Bloodlust
by azngirlchibi
Summary: Sonic...' Amy was angry. She almost murdered him on the spot, but she managed to hold herself. 'You almost kill me, you left me to die... and yet, you're going to pretend nothing happened.' SonAmy
1. Chapter 1 Save Me

A/N: I warn you, I'm NOT a very frequent updater. I don't update a lot:sweatdrops:Sorry, there's so much to do now, and I'm going to be picking courses right after the holidays…. sigh I'll try to update as much as I can. This is mostly rated for gore, maybe for later chapters, if you know what I mean,but I'll see how this goes first.

_Disclaimer: I wish that I own Sonic and co, but I don't. I can dream, though…_

* * *

_'Sonic… where are you?'_

_Running… running… for once in her life, Amy was the one who was running away. Of all the things that could've happened tonight, this was DEFINATLY not on her list._

_Tears streamed down her cheeks as she noticed that she was trapped in an alleyway._

_A menacing voice chuckled behind her. "No place to run now, Amy Rose…"_

_Amy turned around, fear in her eyes, and looked at her pursuer, who's face was hidden in the shadows. Only two emerald green eyes seemed to pierce into the darkness. _

_"St-stay away," stuttered Amy. "P-please…"_

_The figure laughed. "Amy, Amy, Amy. Don't you want to see the face of your killer first?" He laughed once again, and shook his head mockingly as he stepped into the light of the moon._

_The pinked hedgehog gasped. "No… oh god… this isn't happening…"_

_Sonic blinked. He seemed to be like his old self, but what was wrong with him? The emerald green eyes that Amy so adored and longed for were now staring down at her, looking like a hunter that had finally captured his prey. "I'm hurt, Ames! After all these years of chasing me, you finally have me! Aren't you happy?"_

_Petrified, all Amy could do was stare back. Her mind wasn't working at all. If this was any other ordinary villain, she would've smashed him with her Piko Piko Hammer, but this… this was HER Sonic…_

_Her savior_

_Her soul_

_Her love… _

_Sonic was losing patience. Slowly, he approached her, relishing her every single movement, eyes gleaming and teeth showing every time she shook or whimpered in fear. _

_Her back hit a brick wall. All Amy could do was watch in horror as Sonic put his face right up to hers._

_"This won't her a bit," he smirked as he raised his hand._

_Drip…_

_Drip…_

_Drip…_

_Amy opened her mouth and screamed. The pain… it was too great… and it was caused by the hedgehog that she would put her life on the line for…_

_Lovingly, Sonic licked the blood that was trickling down his fingers off his gloves. "Ah… your blood is so sweet…" he murmured, still licking the blood off. "Too bad that you will be dead soon…"_

_Clutching her side, Amy grinded her teeth together. Was this what Sonic really was like? The blood seeped over her fingers. Every drop of blood was reminding her of the love that she had for Sonic, only to have him crush it like an insignificant thing, like something that can be used and thrown away. 'Is this how I'm going to die?' Amy thought to herself, 'I always thought that if I were to die, it would be protecting Sonic, or one of my friends, or even at the hands of Eggman. But now…'_

_His hands now clean, he waited for Amy's reaction. "So, are you going to kill me?"_

_Amy jerked her head up. 'Kill Sonic?' The idea hadn't even crossed her mind! _

_Slowly, she stood up, closing her eyes as pain shot through her body. Sonic made no move to stop her, but he seemed to notice her pain._

_"A little pain too much for the delicate Miss. Rose?" _

_Anger flared up through her body. She felt betrayed… used… and she wasn't going to take it lying down. Reaching behind her, she took out her infamous Piko Piko Hammer, which was giving off a huge wave of energy, as if responding to its' master's rage and sorrow._

_She raised it, and yet Sonic still made no move to stop her. _

_"Sonic… you were the first person that I ever truly loved, besides my parents…" fresh tears were pouring over her already tear-stained face. "Of all the people that could kill me… Eggman…maybe even Rouge… I never thought that it would be you…" She raised the hammer a little higher over her head. "I trusted you. You were my place of refuge, someone I can count on, and someone…" she choked, "Someone that I could love…" She swung the hammer…_

_…but it never connected with Sonic._

_With velocity, Amy Rose swung the hammer down on down on the ground, where a huge wind was swept up through the ally. _

_Sonic, not expecting this, was flung high in the air by the wind, were he felt himself being lifted higher and higher away from his prey. He screamed in rage, and his voice echoed through the night._

_Amy lifted her head, just as he saw Sonic being carried off by the wind. "I'm such a weakling," she whispered to herself. "I'm too weak to kill you… I love you too much…Sonic…" _

_Suddenly, her energy spent, she fell face forward into the ground, lying in a pool of her own blood. _

* * *

A/N: Sorry if you don't like the fact that everything is in italics. This is more of a prologue sort of thing, and I think that I should put it down in italics to show that. Sorry! m( )m Anyway, please review so I can know if I should continue or not. I really appreciate opinions and advice. Oh, and please, if you're one of those people who hate "Son/Amy" pairing, then DON'T READ! I don't appreciate idiotic reviews saying that Amy and Sonic don't deserve to be together, and that my story is shit, blah blah blah. Helpful criticism is what I'm looking for, please. Oh, and I'm not sure if this can be called "angst" or not. Sorry if you hate angst, but ended up reading this... :sweatdrops again: 

'Till next time!

azngirlchibi


	2. Chapter 2 Where am I?

**A/N:** I made this chapter extra long. I guess I'm trying to fit in as much as I can before I start having long periods where I don't update at all (sigh). I'll try to update at least 2 weeks from now, cuz I'm pretty sure all the course choosing will be over by then. I hope so. Everything's gonna be a little crazy now...oh, and there's a bit of Tails/Cream in this one, though you won't hear from them alot... ages have also been changed!8 years have passed since "Sonic Heroes." I didn't mention that in the earlier chapter... (whoops, heh heh)

**Age changes:**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman:Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

I'll add more ages as more characters enter the story.

Anyways, I want to thank the wonderful reviews that I got! They really helped me out!

On with the fic...

_Disclaimer: (looks around house) Nope, not rich yet. So I don't own Sonic... yet..._

* * *

Everything was blue… blue, like him… 

_'Ugh… where am I?'_

All she could hear was a strange _'buzzz…'_ It sounded so familiar, but all Amy wanted to do was to fall asleep again. She felt strangely… weak…

"Amy? Amy, you awake?" Someone wasdabbing a wet cloth over her face, but she couldn't tell who. "Amy?" Who was it? Her eyes were so blurry. All she could see was a blob of golden-yellow, like a blanket of sunlight had been put over her face.

"Cream, are you sure she's ok?"

A quivering voice answered the golden-yellow blob. "Y-y-yes. I checked her pulse and everything, and if she was…" here, she took a deep breath. "…dead… Cheese and Chocola would've run away by now. I'm pretty sure she's alive, Tails."

Cream? Tails? Cheese and Chocola? _'That must mean…'_

Amy sat up with a jolt, and instantly regretted it. Her side didn't hurt as much any more, but she felt nauseous. She groaned.

A buff colored rabbit ran over to her, looking both relieved and worried. "Amy!" she squeaked. "Don't sit up like that! You'll open your wounds!"

Amy groaned again. "Where am I?" she wondered for the second time that day.

"We're in the Tornado, Amy. How're you feeling?"

She turned over to what she thought was a golden-yellow blanket, who turned out to be Tails. He read the look in her eyes, and handed her a waste basket. Finished, she looked up weakly again, though she felt much better.

"Cream, were you the one who found me?"

Cream looked back at Amy uncomfortably. "Well… yes… I found you on my doorstep this morning when I was taking out the garbage."

"Then why am I in the Tornado?" asked Amy, blinking in confusion. At this, both the fox and rabbit blushed.

"Umm… umm…"

Amy laughed at the teens, forgetting about her situation for a moment, which caused her side to ache again. "Oh god…"

"C'mon, Cream. Let's leave her alone for a while." Ignoring Cream's protests, he dragged her out of the room into the main cockpit, leaving Amy alone with her thoughts.

A thousand questions were running through her mind, each more confusing then the last. Questions like "How did I end up on Cream's doorstep?" and "Why am I not dead?" The most confusing question of all was, "Why did Sonic do that?"

At the last question, Amy felt her sadness start to well up again. Yes, indeed. Why had he tried to kill her? Was he an imposter? That wouldn't have been anything new to Amy after meeting Shadow, but no. Those eyes and that smirk… they were both the markings of Sonic. No one else could've managed to copy them, no matter how hard they tried. But it couldn't be Sonic, can it? Sonic, her hero and love? Try to kill her? No, it wasn't possible. She refused to believe it. But that face…

Shaking her head, as if that could clear her troublesome thoughts, she slowly stood up and slid off the chair that she haven't notice that she was sitting on. _'I have faith in Sonic,' _she thought to herself. _'I love him, and even if…if…he doesn't love me… I'll still love him no matter what he does.'_ Hanging onto this small hope, she strolled across the floor and opened the door…

…and her mouth dropped at what she saw…

The plane was on auto-pilot, heading straight for the Mystic Ruins,because the _real_ pilot was too occupied with something… or rather…_ someone._

_'Oh… my… god…'_ was all that was running thorough her mind as she watched Cream and Tails sitting there, sharing a _very_ passionate kiss. _'I never knew that those two had it in them…'_ Amy vaguely thought to herself. She didn't know what to feel. Embarasement, of course, that she had intruded in on their private moment together, but proud, happy, and… what was this?... a small twang of envy.

_'Why can't that be me and Sonic?'_

As if her heart couldn't take another moment of this, her body seemed to start to work on its' own.

"AHEM."

Instantly, the couple sprang apart, staring wide-eyed at Amy. Then, Tails and Cream started blubbering at the same time, each trying to talk over the other. "Amy! We were… uh… that is… checking on… just asking if…"

"BATHROOM! I need to go to the bathroom!" Cream suddenly cried, and raced right out of the cockpit, leaving Tails to confront Amy alone.

Amy grinned, though she didn't know if it from embarrasement or relief. "I guess she forgot that you didn't build a bathroom on the Tornado…"

* * *

"Stupid hedgehog! He can't do anything right!" 

"Maybe it's because…"

"Silence! My plan is _flawless._"

An azure hedgehog was rudely awaken by the sound of two voices argueing. He opened his emerald-green eyes, and saw that he was in a strange, glass confinement, staring at the backs of Dr. Ivo Robotnick, and Metal Sonic.

_'What the… how did I get here? And what have I been eating?'_ A strange, bitter-sweet taste resided in his mouth. Sonic didn't know why, but for some reason, he _hated_ the taste of it. Spitting a couple of times onto the floor, he stared curiously at the redish-pink substance that landed on the floor.

"So… your awake."

Sonic's head shot up to meet a pair of eyes, covered by dark sunglasses. "Eggman… how kind of you to grace me with your presence!" he said, in that cocky tone that he always used.

Robotnik frowned. "Spare me, Sonic. I don't have time for this. Making up ingenious plans to destroy my greatest rival takes a lot of work, you know what I mean?"

"Destroy me? Why would you want to do that? I thought that we were good friends…"

"Don't push it, you insignificant life form," this was Metal Sonic. "Dr. Robotnik is not in the mood today."

Emerald eyes met robotic orange ones. "Why, look! It's my buddy! How're you feeling? Being a metal slave serving Eggman must _really_ tire you out…"

Metal Sonic clenched his fists in anger, looking ready to lynch him on the spot, but suddenly, he seemed to relax and put on a cool façade. "At least _I_ don't go around killing _my_ comrades."

Sonic felt his blood run cold. His fur paled to an almost-sky blue. He was able to keep up a mask of cool and calm up until now, but he felt it falling apart. "What do you mean?" he spat, trying to sound like he didn't care.

The robot smirked. He was enjoying watching the hedgehog squirm. "Well, since we are _such_ good buddies… I'll be _happy _to tell you…" his eyes traveled almost casually over to the bit of redish-pink that Sonic had spat out earlier.

"Enough, Metal," Eggman cut in right before Sonic could ask what he was staring at. "Go. I need you to go run a few..._ erands_..."

Nodding mechanically, Metal Sonic left, leaving them in the dust.

"What are you up to, Eggman?" His patience was quickly growing short. He wanted an answer, and from how happy Metal looked, he wasn't going to like it. _'What did he mean by "killing my comrades?" I don't even remember how I ended up here, let alone kill my friends… and what was Metal staring at?'_ His eyes traveled around his confinement. There was nothing to look at, accept him and… the substance that he spat out… _'Wait… what am I doing? I should be busting out of this thing, not thinking! Or should I find out what he's up to, first? Nah…it's probably just another Eggman robot experiment…'_ Quickly, he looked up at the egg-shaped scientist, who was staring at him intently. He put on his smirk again. Eggman wasn't going to keep him here for long!

The mad scientist was starting to lose interest. He gave a dramatic sigh. "Oh, Sonic. I don't think that you understand that there's no way out, this time. Even _you_ can't break that glass, and soon, all your little friends will be dead… because… well, I'll let you figure _that_ out on your own…" sighing once more, he walked out with an imperious air out the door on his long, skinny legs.

Sonic raised an eyebrow at Eggman's retreating back. _'Ok… that was weird…'_ shaking his head, he thought confidently to himself, _'there's no way that I can't break this glass. Who does that scientist think he's dealing with?'_ He jumped up, curling into a fetal position. He started spinning, faster and faster, gaining momentum, and then made straight for the glass.

Sonic was dazed from the impact. Rubbing his eyes, he looked for the opening that he was sure that he would've made.

There was none.

Robotnik... he spoken the truth.

He _wasn't _able to break the glass.

He _wasn't _able to escape.

He was trapped.

The azure hedgehog ran his fingers along the glass. _'Not even a crack...'_ What was he going to do now? He sat down. For once in his life, he was going to have to stop and think. _'Maybe if I try to remember how I got here…'_

Racking his brain, he tried. The last thing he remembered was that he was running… through the Mystic Ruins… it was very late at night, with no moons or stars showing at all… when something big and shadowy appeared, and grabbed him. He struggled, but he wasn't expecting this thing to jump out of the shadows.There was a sharp pain in his arm that had disappeared as quickly as it had came… and then… a strange feeling had stole over him… after that, everything started to come to his mind in fragments, like shards of stained glass that didn't quite make sense when they were put together…

There was the strange feeling…

He started searching… for _something_...

He found it…

Blood…

A scream…

A sweet taste of something…

A huge gust of wind…

Something had caught him…

_'And now, I'm here… but that doesn't make sense… where did all that blood come from?' _He stared at the substance that he had spat out earlier… and it clicked… Metal Sonic's words echoed though his mind now, like a thundercloud had settled over his head…

_'At least I don't go around killing my comrades…'_

"No…"

His mind felt empty, his body numb. Nothing seem to register, except for one thing…

_'Amy…'_

* * *

**_A/N: _**Very long chapter, I know. I hope all of you like it! 

azngirlchibi


	3. Chapter 3 Everlasting Love

**_A/N: _**Yep, I finally updated. Yep, so proud of myself. I just came back from a dance recital, and I got a huge wave of inspiration for this chapter. This chapter was orignally a bit different, and I hated it, but I just couldn't find the right words. Anyway, we also got a dozen english projects, but it's mostly writing poems and that shit... which is fun, I admit, but takes up too much of my fic-writing time. I'll try to update more frequently now that the course choosing thing is over...

Oh, and I'm thinking of changing the rating to "T" for swearing. I'll do that after I post my next chapter. Ok? Just a warning!

* * *

**Age changes:**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman:Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26**

* * *

**

_**'Kill her…'**_

_'Who…'_

_**'Kill her…'**_

_'Who are you?'_

_**'I want more… more of her blood…'**_

Sonic woke up with a start, with sweat rolling down his fur. A small moan of agony escaped his lips.

_'It was just a dream…'_

His hand wiped the sweat off his face. Every single night had been like this, ever since…

_'No… don't think about it…'_

Sonic felt himself start to shake it bit from anxiety. _'You're alive, right? You should be happy that you're alive…' _He swallowed, suddenly feeling as if a lump had forced its' way down his throat. A sickening feeling began to well up from deep inside him. He felt his dam, the one that had shut away all his feelings, begin to break.

_'Amy…'_

_'I promised to protect her…' _He made a noise that sounded like something between a sob and a groan. _'Some protector I turned out to be.'_

_'At least Eggman isn't here to bother me tonight…'_

_Beeeeeeeeeeep_

Sonic's head jerked up. A round figure appeared at the doorway that just opened.

_'Man… did I jinx this or something?'_ He suddenly felt very aware of his conditions. His fur was matted, from nights of sweating, crying, and torment. Not to mentioned that he never touched the food that Robotnik's servants left for him.

"Hmph… stubborn hedgehog," muttered the mad scientist as he checked over Sonic through his glass confinement. Sonic refused to meet his eyes. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing his anger. He was angry for what he had done to him, and more importantly, how he had made him do… _that_… to his Amy…

_'Whoa… hold the phone… MY Amy?'_

_'Why not?' _asked a small voice in his head, the one he always ignored. _'You loved her since the day you met her… and you still do, but you were always so busy running away, because you thought it would protect her…'_

_'I…'_

_'Don't deny…'_

Eggman, oblivious to Sonic who was lost in thought, was putting a tube of some sort of substance into a console. He still couldn't believe that he was doing this. He always hated the hedgehog, yes. But as the years went by, he became more of a rival than an enemy, though he would never admit it out loud. This plan seemed beyond evil, even to him, but he knew what he wanted. World domination, something that he could never achieve because of the creature on the other side of that glass. He had always thought of himself as too kind… he never had the heart to kill him. This plan was too perfect though. He would suffer, like the way Dr. Ivo Robotnik had. He would be humiliated, just like him.

He flipped a switch, watching the machine whirl to life, and walked out. _'Soon… very soon…'_

"Huh? Leaving, Eggman? Come back, you coward!" The azure hedgehog shouted to his nemesis, but he didn't know if he really wanted him to come back, or if he was trying to drown out the little voice in his head.

_Psssssshh…_

He felt something being sprayed into his confinement. Immediately sensing danger, he held his breath, trying not to breath in the substance.

**_'Kill her…'_** The voice was louder this time, more imploring.

Sonic felt himself freeze. His heart began pounding in his chest. For the first time in his life… he was scared…

_'This is just a dream… just a dream…'_

The voice in his head chuckled. **_'You're not dreaming, I can tell you that much.'_**

He shook his head vigorously, still trying to hold his breath, but he was running out of air.

**_'It's no use. As soon as you breathe in, I'll take over…'_**

_'Who are you?'_ he demanded, just as he breathed in.

**_'Who am I?' _**Sonic could feel himself falling… falling into a deep pit… losing consciousness… and the last thing he heard was, **_'Why, I am you, of course…'

* * *

_**

In the Mystic Ruins, everything was eerily quiet. The moon and the stars had hidden themselves, as if afraid of witnessing the sins committed on the earth. It seemed as if every leaf, every branch, even the wind itself was not present. Only a fog had settled itself, as if waiting…

_'Brr… it sure is cold out…'_

Someone was walking along a lonely path, disturbing the perfect and absolute stillness in the night. To anyone who was listening, it seemed like an earsplitting noise coming from the shadows.

A certain pink hedgehog shivered. It had been three days since she had arrived at Tail's workshop with Cream. They had made her comfortable, consoling her from her troubled thoughts, which she had refused to voice out loud, changing the subject when they asked her anything about Sonic. She had expected him to be at Tail's workshop, only to find out that they haven't seen him in 4 days, which was exactly when she was…

_'Attacked? Betrayed? What were you expecting, for him to love you back? He always pushed you away, running away… he always hated you, but you always had this silly hope that he had even a tiny bit of feeling for you. You know he hates you…'_

_'JUST SHUT UP!'_

She had had this thought so many times before, even when she was a little 12 year old girl. She wasn't stupid… she knew that Sonic didn't love her, but hope had always urged her on, telling her it wasn't over yet.

_'Hope is such a silly thing…'_

A sob fell out of her lips. _'But I can't help but love him…'_

_SNAP_

A noise in the mist…

_'Who was that?'_

_SNAP_

Almost afraid to say it out loud, she whispered, "Sonic?"

A voice melted out of the fog. "Hi, Ames."

"S-stop this, Sonic. You're really scaring me…"

Each chuckle emitted from the voice felt like a stab to Amy's heart. "I am, am I?"

The fog seemed to press in on Amy from all sides. Her fear felt sharper, more painful. Each gasping breath felt like it would be her last.

Suddenly, she screamed as someone grabbed her from behind.

A hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her voice. "Shhh…"

"Aaah… so you're still alive, are you?" She felt his hands caressing her sides, tracing the sliver of a scar that he had left on her. "I thought that you would be dead for sure…"

Her mind was screaming for her to run, to hit him, kick him, anything, but her body wasn't responding. It was frozen by fear.

"You know, you are quiet an annoying little persistent brat…"

Those words seemed to cause a fire to burn within Amy. With all her might, she threw Sonic off and turned around, backing a few feet away from him. _'Annoying, little persistent brat, am I?'_

"Oh, I seemed to have struck a nerve," taunted Sonic. Amy didn't respond. She just looked at him, trying to convince herself that it wasn't Sonic. It _couldn't_ be Sonic, she just knew it…

"You're gonna regret not paying attention…"

Amy gasped as Sonic seemed to disappear. This was his speed of course. She knew that. Her eyes darted left and right, trying to spot him.

"Boo."

_'How did he get behind me?'_

She whirled around. Sonic's hand was reared back, and this time, his target was her heart…

Time .slowed…

Amy squeezed her eyes shut. _'No… it can't end this way…'_

She felt her life flash in front of her eyes…

Her mom and dad holding her…

Both of them dying…

Being rescued by Sonic for the first time…

Feeling her love for him blooming, even when she was pushed away by him…

Then, her promise…

_'Even if…if he doesn't love me, I'll still love him no matter what…'_

_'Sonic… I still love you… you're about to kill me, yet my love for you doesn't fade… even hatred can't smother it…_

Suddenly, she felt something streak past her.

Her eyes opened wide in surprise.

_It was Knuckles!_

She felt confused, her mind in turmoil. _'Knuckles is here, of all places?'_

"Hey, baby. You ok?"

_"Rouge?"_

"Yep, it's me. You know, I usually don't like talking to you, but this is _way_ beyond even _me._ I mean, if the guy loves you so much, he doesn't have to be _this_ extreme…"

Amy stared at the white bat, thinking, _'What is going on here?'_ First Knuckles, now Rouge?

During her moment of confusion, she had forgotten all about Sonic. Bewildered, she quickly located the hedgehog and echidna, rolling and delivering blows to each other on the ground.

Sonic growled. He had been caught off guard! Why was this girl so hard to kill? He had been so close this time… so close that he could taste it. But then, this annoying…_thing_… had to come along and ruin it! Anger coursing through his veins, he curled up into a ball, preparing for a homing attack.

Knuckles stared in slight confusion. _'What's the idiot doing?'_ Sure, Sonic could be dumb. He could also be a pain in the ass, but he was a good friend and rival. Quickly, he dodged the homing attack by burrowing into the ground, leaving Sonic with a mouthful of dirt. He quickly tunneled back up, fist first, and deployed his infamous Spiral Upper.It connected with the stomach of Sonic, who flew a few feet away, momentarily stunned. Taking his chance, he pounced onto him, pinning him to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" he spat at him. His fur covered body was trembling with rage. "First, you steal the Master Emerald, and now, you're attacking your friends? What is going on inside that thick skull of yours?"

Sonic laughed, but it seemed so unnatural coming out of his mouth. Quietly, he whispered so only the red echidna could hear. "Yes, I'm attacking your friends, and yes, I did steal the Master Emerald. So what? I always get what I want…You should know that by now, Knucklehead..." With all his strength, he managed to push off the older echidna. Before running off, he turned to Amy. "I'll be back for you, Ames! And when I am…" he smirked, and before Knuckles could jump on him again, he sped off.

"What is wrong with him?" asked Knuckles again as he brushed himself off. He shook out his dreadlocks, which had been messed up in the fight.

"Why don't you explain when you get back in my workshop?"

Everyone jumped at the sound, but when they turned around, they saw Tails with a scared looking Cream behind him, holding out a flashlight.

"Tails! You gave me a heart attack!" exclaimed Rouge, clutching her chest.

"Sorry… heh heh," replied Tails nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I don't expect visitors so late in the night…" his voice trailed off. "Besides… I thought I saw Sonic…"

At the mention of his name, a thick silence seemed to fall over everyone. No one wanted to believe what they just saw. Each of them was silently denying in their heads that Sonic the hedgehog, had become a murderer. To each of them, he was an irreplaceable friend, or at least he was an ally, and to think of him going from hero to villain… the idea froze their insides. As the fog began to clear, the moon and stars began to show themselves, as if they too, had just saw the event that took place, and were trying to deny it as well.

* * *

**_A/N: _**WHEEEE! I'm done! I hope y'all liked it! Thank you all oh so much for the reviews! 


	4. Chapter 4 I Want To Protect You

**_A/N:_** Ok, lots of people have been complaing about me typing in italics. Well, I'm really sorry, but that's just my way to show thoughts. When I don't put them in italics, people complain that they can't tell when the characters are thinking, or talking. I'll try to not use itallics as much as possible, but there won't be no italics at all. As well, I think I can cope with doing a chapter a week, so expect an update on Saturday or Sunday unless I have something happening on one of those days.

Rating has changed!

* * *

**Age Changes:**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

_

* * *

_

_'Sonic attacked me… again…'_

Amy felt tears stinging her eyes, but she would not let them fall, especially in front of so many of her friends. _'I don't get it. It can't be him…it just couldn't. I said I'd love him no matter what… but I'm just not so sure anymore…'_

"Amy…"

_'I do owe everyone an explanation…'_

"Amy…"

_'That's twice they saved me now… '_

"Hhheeellllloooo?"

_'I guess what Sonic said was true…'_

"EARTH TO AMY!"

"Hmm?" Amy was snapped out of her thoughts. She stared into the eyes of the white bat Rouge, who was waving an arm in front of her face.

"Finally… I thought you never wake up…"

"What? Ya… sure…" answered Amy vaguely.

Cream sighed. "Amy…" she started, "Is there something you want to tell us?"

Amy squirmed uncomfortably as the attention was averted to her. So she tell them? How Sonic had become a killer? That he was after her now?

"You know, you can always ask us for help," offered Tails.

_'No… I don't need help," _she thought to herself as Sonic's words flooded back to her: _'You're an annoying, persistent little brat…'_

_'I'm no brat! I can protect myself. How many times have I proved myself? I don't need them to protect me… I'm not a stupid little naïve girl anymore…'_

"How many times do you think I have to scream in her ear to get her to come down to Earth? Anyone?" asked Rouge sarcastically as Amy, once again, became lost in her thoughts.

"Oh… sorry…" the hedgehog replied mildly. Everyone sighed. It was obvious to them that she wasn't going to open her mouth to explain anything.

"Look," said Knuckles forcefully. He was no good with emotions, but he might as well try. "We're your friends. We'll always be there for you."

Amy let a small smile grace her lips. "Thanks, Knuckles."

"Aww… Knuckles turning into a softie?" asked Rouge teasingly. Knuckles turned bright red at this.

"WHAT? As the guardian of the Master Emerald…"

"Ya, ya. We know how big and tough you are oh-great-guardian," Rouge smiled, almost tenderly at the Guardian. He smiled back at her, and the two unconsciously sat nearer to each other.

_'Everyone's so happy…' _The pink hedgehog mentally sighed. _'Is this how life is going to be for me?'_ She felt like she was staring through a window… into another world, another time and place, where everything was perfect… she just needed to be out of the picture. _'Maybe… just maybe…'_ she let that thought trail off. For some reason, she didn't want to finish it. A deep dread seemed to settle in on her heart.

"So, Knuckles…" began Amy, trying to distract herself from her thoughts. "What are you doing here anyway? Not that I don't appreciate it…"

Knuckles fur suddenly seemed to stick straight up, as if it had been electrified. "The Master Emerald has been stolen again…" he managed to growl out thorough clenched teeth.

Amy blinked. "Didn't you say something about…" she hesitated, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"…about Sonic stealing the Master Emerald?" he nodded at Amy, relieving her of having to say Sonic's name. "There were traces of the Master Emerald's essence all over him. I'm pretty sure he didn't have it with him though."

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on." Tails put up his hands, imploring Knuckles to stop. "That can't be right. What would Sonic do with the Master Emerald?"

"I don't know," replied Knuckles, looking grim. "All I know is that I have to get it back… no matter what."

"How about telling us how it got stolen?" asked Tails.

Knuckles sighed, putting his hands behind his head. "It's a long story…"

* * *

_'There's not much action going on lately,'_ thought Knuckles to himself as he stared down at the Master Emerald from a high tree branch. _'I wonder what everyone else is doing?'_

He took a flying leap and landed on another tree branch, farther away from the shrine then he usually would be.

_'Well, nobody said that guarding the Master Emerald would be fun, and I swore to protect it…'_

Suddenly, there was a slight rustling sound coming from his right. Immediately he froze in battle position. _'I guess I got my wish,'_ he thought with a small smirk.

"Show yourself, whoever you are! You are on sacred grounds!"

"Geez, Knux. You don't need to sound so worried."

Knuckles relaxed a bit as he recognized the sound of Sonic's voice. "What are you doing here? And how did you get here? I didn't see the Tornado…"

Sonic stepped out from the green foliage. _'What the…'_ Knuckles looked at Sonic a little strangely. He looked the same, hell; he even acted like his same old layed-back self. His instincts of danger were kicking up into high gear, but he could see nothing wrong.

"What's with the weird look?" asked Sonic, looking up coolly at him.

Knuckles flinched slightly. It wasn't his usual friendly sort of cool look. This seemed more menacing somehow… was this really Sonic? He needed to find out more.

"Oh, nothing, Sonic. There was just a… nice looking flower behind you." He mentally slapped himself. _'That was pathetic!'_

"Planning to give it to Rouge, eh?" asked Sonic with a sly look in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" replied Knuckles, narrowing his eyes.

Sonic just smiled. Abruptably, he changed the subject. "So, how's life been as the Guardian?"

Taken aback by the sudden subject changed, Knuckles answered, "Oh, nothing. Same old thing. The Master Emerald could be taken any second, you know." He carefully gauged his reaction.

Seeming indifferent, Sonic just said, "You're right. One second, it could be standing there in that shrine, and the next second, it's gone, as quickly as you can blink."

Knuckles as getting more and more suspicious by the second. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Just to explore," answered Sonic simply.

"Just to explore?" asked a confused echidna. "That's all?"

"Oh, right. There was something else I was gonna do. What was it? Let me think…" Sonic scratched his head idly. "Oh, ya. I also came…" here, he paused. Knuckles didn't know why, but he got back into his battle stance. "… to steal the Master Emerald." With that, he zoomed off towards the direction of the shrine.

"What?" Knuckles started racing after Sonic. "Damn!" he muttered to himself. He should've pummeled Sonic when he had the chance. Oh, why didn't he listen to his instincts? Knuckles was regretting it more and more every second as the sound of Sonic breaking through the forest was getting farther and farther away.

_'Well, he might be faster, but I know the island better.'_

He dived to his right, into a hidden passageway under the roots of a huge tree that he had dug a while ago. It would take him right to the Master Emerald Shrine.

_'Too easy,'_ thought Sonic, dodging tree branches and huge roots. Nothing could've been simpler. He was simply too gullible. He was nearing the shrine, and was just about to enter it…

…when Knuckles jumped out, lounging at him at tackling him to the ground.

They began to fight. Knuckles attempted to give him a powerful punch that should be enough to knock him out, so that he could get to the bottom of this. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew that he couldn't hurt him.

Just when he was about to throw a punch, Sonic managed to grab his fist. He widened his eyes in surprise, before Sonic flung him into a tree, which promptly toppled over on top of him.

Confident that he had won, Sonic entered the shrine.

The broken pieces of the tree began to shift and move, as Knuckles threw them aside angrily. Finally breaking free, he ran into the shrine after Sonic. _'I must protect the Master Emerald!'_

A dim, green light was shining ahead, which must mean that Sonic hadn't gotten to it yet. With this dim hope in mind, he picked up his pace. Stopping before the entrance, he peeked in.

Sonic, with a grin of satisfaction, was staring at the Emerald, a greedy look in his eye. "Oh, no you don't!" shouted Knuckles, grabbing Sonic from behind. Sonic looked surprise, and didn't have time to react as he was thrown hard at the wall.

As the dust cleared, Sonic stood up, looking completely unharmed. "We can do this the easy way… just hand it over."

"Keep dreaming," answered Knuckles. "What would you do with it?"

"Orders from the top," Sonic quipped.

"Wha-" before Knuckles could finish, Sonic had ran past him, grabbing his arms in the process. He threw him high up into the air, and used a homing attack on him. He fell to the ground, stunned.

"You know you can't beat me…"

Knuckles growled. He stood up; his battered body feeling every little breath, every heart beat amplified a hundred times. He felt enraged, and betrayed. He didn't want to hurt Sonic… but now, he had no choice.

He ran straight towards Sonic, who yawned, as if he was bored. Just as he curled into a ball to attack Knuckles, he took an abrupt turn to the left, catching him off guard. He quickly unfurled from his ball, but Knuckles had grabbed his legs and flung him onto the ground. He jumped up high, fists first, ready to strike him. Sonic recovered just in time, and rolled out of the way, where a huge crater appeared where his head was a few seconds ago. Getting up quickly, Sonic ran toward Knuckles, who quickly brought up his fist, which Sonic quickly dodged. He was now right beneath Knuckles, and before he could do anything, Sonic had plunged his hand into Knuckles's stomach.

Knuckles's eyes widened. Cruelly, Sonic withdrew his hand, grinning wickedly. _'Blood…'_ his clouded mind seem to whisper.

Knuckles staggered back, coughing up blood. "Sonic… you bastared…" he croaked.

Sonic stared at his hands for a few moments, as if trying to figure out if he had done this or not. Slowly, he turned to Knuckles. "I told you to give up…" a wicked grin seemed to spread over his face. "I'll take what I came here for, then."

Knuckles felt helpless as Sonic took the Master Emerald. _'I failed…'_

As Sonic touched the Master Emerald, something happened. His body went rigid, his eyes widened. It was as if thousands of tiny stars were exploding in his head. He felt something start to awaken inside him, as if telling him to stop, to stop taking all this innocent blood. It was reaching towards the Master Emerald, as if it was a light that was found in the darkness.

_'NO!'_ he growled in his mind. _'I will not lose control!'_

With a gasp, he let go of the Master Emerald.

The red echidna stared in awe as Sonic let go of the Master Emerald. Why had the Emerald deflected him? Any other person who tried to take it had always been able to touch it at least. Why him?

Suddenly, he went cold as cold, green eyes were turned to him.

"Take the Master Emerald for me," he commanded.

Knuckles blinked. "As if!"

"Oh, I'm sure you will comply…" he waved his hands, and a blue Chaos Emerald appeared in his hands. It glowed, and someone else appeared in his arms, gagged and bounded, eyes wide.

"Rouge!" cried Knuckles in horror. "How…"

"Your girlfriend here tried to take the Chaos Emerald from me. Not very nice of her," smirked Sonic as the white bat continued to struggle. "Anyway, back to the point. If you take the Master Emerald for me, I won't have to kill her."

Knuckles didn't know what to do. Luckily, the wound to his stomach wasn't that deep, but he was still losing blood. He wouldn't be able to fight him again, nor would he let him kill Rouge. But he couldn't let the Master Emerald go either. He stared at the Master Emerald, which shone as if saying, "It's your choice."

He looked at the white bat, whose life he had saved once already. _'Why should I save the life of a thief? Why didn't I just let her die in the lava the first time I met her? Yes, she had the pieces of the Master Emerald, but the Master Emerald could easily survive lava, and would've floated to the top anyway…' _What was this strange thing he was feeling? It was like a mix of all the emotions in the world all put into one.

"Well?" asked an impatient hedgehog.

Without speaking, he staggered up, clutching his stomach. Without taking his eyes off Sonic, he walked slowly towards him, putting his face right up to his. Then, turning away, he quickly grabbed the Master Emerald, put it in Sonic's hands, and grabbed Rouge.

Sonic smirked. "Good choice," he said. Then turning away, he cried, "Chaos Control!" and disappeared as if he was never there.

Knuckles made quick work of untying Rouge's arms and legs. Taking the gag out of her mouth, she cried out, "Knuckles, your stomach!"

"It's… not that bad…" he smiled faintly.

Everything seemed to blur. He fell into the welcoming arms of darkness.

* * *

"And so, I took care of his wounds, and as soon as he got better, he was up and ready to find the Master Emerald," finished Rouge. 

Silence fell like a blade over the group. It was thick… suffocating. Cream desperately tried to lift the cloud of silence. "So, Knuckles… Rouge," she said in am overly cheerful voice, nodding to them both. "Do you want to stay here tonight? We have plenty of room."

"Thanks, Cream. We appreciate it," returned Knuckles.

_Knock, knock, knock._

"I'll get it!" Amy jumped up, and ran over to the door.

_'Who could it be? At this time of night?'_ Amy hesitated at the door for a moment, her hand just inches away from the handle. Her heart was racing, her breathing shallow. _'Could it be…?'_

She opened the door.

So many emotions were running through her heart. Fear, sadness, pain… and happiness?

She felt as if time had stood still. It was if the one in front of her was so far away, yet he was standing right in front of her.

Finally, the silence was broken by the blue hero.

"Hi, Amy."

* * *

**_A.N: _**Thank you very much for the reviews, everyone. Accept one, but that was just a stupid one from my friends LOL. Anyways, thank you so much again!

azngirlchibi


	5. Chapter 5 Never Let Me Go

**A/N:** I know, I know! I get it! Thank you for your patience... or impatience, depending on who you are (cough, cough). Chapter's really, really, _really_ short, I know. I GET IT!

* * *

**Character Ages**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Don't own. If I did, I'd update alot more than this.

* * *

"Sonic," Amy whispered as she stared up at his grinning face. 

"Hey…" his eyes seemed to soften… or was it her imagination? "I've missed you." He drew her in for a hug.

Amy felt herself falling into his warm embrace. How long had she waited for this? For Sonic to make the first move? For him to hug her first? "Sonic…" she whispered again as she burrowed her head into his cream-coloured chest. "Oh, Sonic!" she cried muffled sobs into his fur. "I thought I lost you forever…"

"Don't be silly," he said into her hair. "I said that I'll always be there for you…" his voice seemed soothing… almost hypnotic. "Have I ever broken a promise?"

_'Has he ever broken a promise…?'_ Oh, what did she care? Sonic was back, and he was normal. Now, nothing will ever take them apart ever again… almost dreamily, she felt herself nod.

"See?" he whispered, gently smoothing her hair with his hand. As his hand passed through her hair, she felt the strange sensation of her mind being gently wiped blank.

"Sonic…" she heard her own, hollow voice speaking. "We will be together forever, right?"

"Of course," he replied. "We'll never be apart again. We will be together… always. That's a promise." Then, his voice seemed to turn menacing again. "I will never let you go."

Amy felt his grip on her tighten, almost unbearably tight. But she didn't struggle. She felt too tired… maybe she'll just close her eyes and let everything go… after all; she _is_ falling asleep in Sonic's arms…

"Don't worry…" his voice seemed to come through fog. "When you're awake, all the pain will be gone…"

A bright, blue light shone around them, almost like it was lifting them up. She closed her eyes. The last thing Amy thought she heard was a voice calling out her name.

"NO! AMY!"

* * *

_'What is wrong with the Chaos Emerald?'_ wondered a confused, black hedgehog for the umpteenth time that night. 

The full moon in the sky shone down on the face of Shadow the hedgehog, gazing down on a yellow Chaos Emerald clenched tightly in his hands. It was pulsing steadily, sending off small waves of energy. Small they were, but very powerful.

_'Ugh… this is getting really tiresome…'_ he thought, irritated. About 4 days ago, it had begun pulsing. Normally, he would've dismissed it as another strange working of the Emeralds, and wait for something to happen. The strange thing was, it had suddenly stopped it's pulsing, catching him completely off guard. For the past couple of days, it would pulse very slowly, or erratically, or sometimes even stop altogether.

_'Well… at least it hasn't stopped pulsing yet.'_ He had found out later that sometimes, as he approached a specific location, it would pulse very quickly, but if he didn't make it fast enough, it would stop. So far, he hadn't caught whatever the Emerald was so attracted to.

Speeding along, he dodged branch after branch in the dark night, sometimes missing them only by inches. _'I can't even Chaos Control when this stupid thing is pulsing like this,'_ he thought to himself, annoying himself even further.

A rather good-sized looking warehouse. The Emerald's pulse began to speed up, like a runner nearing a finish line. _'This is it!' _his mind shouted. With all his speed, he crashed through the door, only to have his eyes meet a blinding flash of light, andhis ears meet a scream of "NO! AMY!"

* * *

**A/N: **(sighs) Ok, I'm sorry. BTW, can anyone tell me what the hell Tails's workshop looks like? I don't know what it looks like... I wasn't that into Sonic back then. (slaps self in face). I can't believe that I used to not like Sonikku that much... wait, did I just say "Sonikku?" The end must be near...

azngirlchibi


	6. Chapter 6 Clearing the Fog

**_A/N: _**I know. FINALLY! I stop talking now. Well, techincally, I'm typing... but you obviously don't care, because you probably wanna read...

* * *

Arigato, Millenium Master, for telling me what Tails's workshop looks like (bows)

* * *

**Character Ages**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I'm still waiting for a shooting star to grant my wish... but until then, I don't own.

* * *

"OMFG, Sonic! Stop being such a pervert!" Amy slapped Sonic, leaving a big, red hand mark. 

"Look! I can't help it if azngirlchibi likes Inuyasha!" retorted Sonic.

Suddenly, Ash Ketchum from Pokemon stepped in. "OMG! A pokemon! Must… catch…!" He threw a Poke-ball at Sonic, only to have Sonic escape the ball. "Aww! And it was so close too!" read the typing that appeared out of nowhere.

"WTF?" Sonic got pissed, and spin-dashed Ash. The typing changed to, "It's super-effective!" Ash fainted.

"Oh, Sonic! You saved me!" cried Amy, running towards Sonic with tears of joy in her eyes.

"Wha-a?" was all he got out of him before Amy gave him a kiss.

_'I gotta save her more often…' _Sonic thought to himself.

* * *

April Fools! Now on with the story! Oh, and I got the pokemon idea from I-PWN-AT-BASS. Read his story, "Computer Apocalypse!"

* * *

Metal Sonic barely looked up as a bright light appeared in the middle of the huge room he was in.

A figure emerged from the light - his arch-rival, and enemy, Sonic the hedgehog. He didn't bother standing up either when the hedgehog collapsed.

"S-Sonic!" cried a frightened voice.

Metal glanced briefly over at the pink hedgehog, who was frantically trying to shake Sonic awake.

"He won't wake up…" he said, in a mechanical, emotionless voice.

Amy jerked her head up. Her lips formed his name, and a frightened, scared look stole over her face.

The robot barely managed to surpass a smirk. He might as well toy with her… until Dr. Robotnik came back.

"What have you done with Sonic?" shouted Amy, trying to sound braver… way braver than she felt.

"Oh? You mean that piece of trash?" he asked lightly. "I didn't done anything… he went willingly."

Amy bit her lip, and shook her head. _'He's just toying with me. Sonic wouldn't do this… he wouldn't…'_

Metal Sonic laughed, then seemingly appeared right beside the unconscious hedgehog.

"This… inferior _thing_… doesn't deserve to live," he sneered. He gave a mighty kick, and Sonic's body flew across the room.

Amy gasped, watching Sonic's body, frozen to the spot.

"Face it, he's a cold, cruel _jerk_," said Metal, giving Sonic another kick.

Amy trembled. _'Ya… he is…'_

"He couldn't care less about you," he continued, punching his face.

_'No… no he wouldn't…'_

"You should've given up long ago, before you lost the chance!" He pinned Sonic by the throat onto the wall.

_'Yes… I should've… before I…'_

"He…"

_'…before I…'_

"…doesn't love you…"

_'…BEFORE I FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM!'_

Wiping his hands on the wall, he turned around to face the trembling pink hedgehog. _'Why does the air… suddenly seem so cold…?'_

Before the robot could react, a huge, storming whirlwind threw him high into the air.

_'Damn! I was caught off-guard!'_ he thought angrily to himself, as his rocket boosters set him gently onto the ground.

Amy was standing in front of Sonic protectively, her hammer out. Her head was down, her bangs shadowing her eyes. Her voice came out as a low, carrying whisper. So low, even Metal had to strain his ears to catch it.

"Don't you dare… come near Sonic…"

Mechanical laughter filled the chamber. "An empty threat," chuckled the robot. Then, as if to prove his point, he charged towards Amy, who made no move to stop him.

_'Just as I thought,'_ smirked Metal confidently. He threw a punch towards Amy.

Amy caught it.

Metal nearly gasped in surprise at the strength she had. He felt his hand being bent backwards, and wires ripping in his wrist. "I said," she whispered, "STAY AWAY!" With all her might, she swung her hammer at Metal Sonic. _Hard._

Metal Sonic picked himself painfully up from the hole that he created in the wall. "Why are you protecting that piece of crap?" he asked. From his tone of voice, you would've thought that nothing had happened.

Amy's eyes flashed. "When you love someone… when your love for that person is so deep that it hurts… you would protect that person, no matter what."

"It's a useless emotion," snarled Metal Sonic. He flew towards the girl. "You're a fool!" He bent down and delivered a sweeping kick.

Amy didn't move, but instead brought down her hammer. "Tornado Hammer!" she cried out.

The huge tornado appeared again, and Metal Sonic was sent flying up, the tornado causing rips to appear in his armor. He landed flat on his back, and he wasn't prepared for Amy to come flying out of nowhere and hitting him with a spin-dash.

Amy felt like she was on fire. She was enraged… enraged that this robot spoke of Sonic like he was nothing, enraged that he tried to toy with her mind, enraged that he would toy with Sonic's. Without stopping, she shouted, "Storming Heart!" She jumped back as waves of energy started pounding Metal Sonic deeper and deeper into the ground.

She was about to deliver the finishing blow. "Amy Fla-" but she felt something suddenly course through her, setting every nerve over the edge. Fireworks started appearing in front of her eyes… and then, she fell beside Sonic.

_'Sonic…'_ her dimly lit mind breathed. _'I'm sorry… I wasn't strong enough…'_ she tried to reach out towards Sonic, then cried in pain as someone stepped on her hand.

"You… you're as useless as that meddling hedgehog," sneered Robotnik. Amy looked up to see him holding some sort of gun in his hands.

"You…" she croaked out. Then, her vision blurred, and she her mind blacked out.

* * *

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

"Knuckles…" said Cream weakly. "That's not going to save Amy…or Sonic…"

Knuckles stopped punching the wall long enough to retort back. "Well, sitting there isn't going to help either!" He resumed punching the wall.

"Look Knuckles," said a calm Shadow. "I want to get them both back too…"

"Yeah, right!" growled Knuckles. "You could be on Robotnik's side, for all we know!"

Shadow's blood red eyes flashed dangerously. "Care to repeat that?"

"Boys!" intervened Rouge, before Knuckles could take a step towards him. "This isn't the time!"

"She's right," put in Tails. "We need to figure out a way to help, not fight each other!"

For a second, it looked like Knuckles was about to refuse, but then he sighed and sat down beside Rouge. "It's just so… frustrating!"

Shadow nodded slowly… but it didn't seem that he was agreeing to Knuckles. "When did Sonic start to disappear again?"

"4 days ago," replied Tails, looking curious.

"Hmm…" he muttered, his voice trailing off. "I think… just maybe…"

"Spit it out!" shouted an already-strained Knuckles.

"Maybe… the Chaos Emerald is reacting to Sonic…"

There was a silence. Then, suddenly, Knuckles jumped up. "Of course! That would explain why Sonic stole the Master Emerald!"

Cream was looking confused. Knuckles must've saw her face, because he continued, "Say someone wanted to control him using the Chaos Emeralds… they would have to have Sonic only absorb their negative energy, but since Sonic already knows how to absorb their positive energy, he would need something to negate that positive energy… something like…"

"The Master Emerald!" finished Tails for Knuckles.

"Right," he nodded. "But for the Chaos Emeralds, that's not natural. They have to have a good balance of both negative and positive energy. The other Chaos Emeralds must've sense the imbalance, and started reacting to the amount of negative energy coming off of Sonic that he absorbed. But what I don't get is…" he hesitated.

"What is it?" asked Rouge.

"How did he get controlled in the first place? They would need to steal the Master Emerald first… but Sonic stole it _after_ he went under someone's control… besides, trying to negate all the positive energy in the Emeralds is a huge risk in the first place."

"Well…" said Rouge. "There's only one person who hates him enough to risk it, isn't there?"

"Eggman!" spat out Tails.

* * *

**_A/N:_** Oooh... my fingers... (looks at casts around fingers) Poor fingers... They hurt from typing... 

I hope this was worth your time!

azngirlchibi


	7. Chapter 7 No Matter What

**_A/N: _**Sorry about the mix-up, ppl. I just... err... accidently deleted this chapter by mistake... eh heh...

* * *

_Dedicated to Metal Heart - Ruby Fangs. YOU ROCK!__

* * *

_**Disclaimer: **_Do you think I own it? No, of course I obviously don't! So stupid...

* * *

**Character Ages**_

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

Vector: 28

Espio: 24

Charmy: 14

* * *

_'Ooohhh… my head…'_

Amy gingerly touched the top of her head as her world spun around and around.

_'I feel like I've just spin-dashed for 3 days straight…'_ she thought to herself wearily. Slowly, very slowly, the spinning stopped.

"Amy, you ok?"

Amy spun around so fast she cricked her neck.

_'Sonic…'_

She squinted in the dark, dreary room to see him better. There he was, standing. Just standing there. No look of malice in his eyes, no blood-thirsty words.

He was just standing there.

Amy stared hard at him. _'Is it really you, Sonic?'_

"Amy, what are you doing here?"

Amy felt her eyes widened. _'He really has no clue…?'_

"Sonic… you… you…" she swallowed hard. "You… brought me… here…" her voice shook slightly.

Sonic almost choked. _'So… it wasn't a dream…'_ He shuddered. The past few days had been a nightmare. He didn't remember anything… except a few things…

Impenetrable darkness…

Blood…

… And an unexplainable thirst to kill.

"Sonic…"

His head snapped up towards the voice.

"You really… you really don't remember anything?"

Sonic and Amy stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. _'Amy… what have I done to you?'_ He took in the sight of her.

Ragged expression…

Red eyes… _'She's been crying,'_ he thought to himself with a stab of pain.

Most noticeable of all, was the deep, endless feeling of remorse and hurt that he could read in her jade green eyes. He could almost see the shattered soul behind those eyes.

_'What sort of monster have I become?'_

Abruptly, he turned around.

"Look, Amy. We're got to get out of here." He turned around again, a fake smirk plastered on his face. "We'll be home soon, Ames."

Amy felt her anger flare, barely registering that they were in some sort of glass confinement that she had not noticed before.

"Sonic…" Amy was angry. She almost killed him on the spot, but she managed to hold herself.

"You almost kill me…"

"You left me to die…"

"… and yet, you're going to pretend nothing happened…"

Sonic flinched at each word that left her lips. Every word hurt deeply. She couldn't have done anything worse…

_'She doesn't love you anymore…'_

His smirk faltered as the thought came into his head, and his ears drooped.

_'No…'_

_'She hates you… you monster…'_

_'No…'_

_'You monster…'_

_'No…'_

_'Monster…'_

_'NO!'_

His breathing caught in his throat. It was like his whole world was crashing down onto him, crushing him… he suddenly felt nauseous.

_'Amy… she has to stay away from me…'_

_'That's the only way I can protect her…'_

_'I **have** to protect her…'_

_'Even if it means hurting myself…'_

Suddenly turning cold, he turned his back on her again. "C'mon," he said, his voice steely. "Help me find a way out."

Behind his back, Amy felt her frustration rear its head. "Sonic!" She shouted, the strain of the past week flooding into her. "Why won't you let me help you!"

Sonic stiffened, but didn't answer.

Tears were now running down her face. "You're always like this!" she screamed. She angrily pointed a finger at him, as more hot, angry tears slipped out of her eyes. "You always run away when I try to help! You always leave me behind! Always!" Her most painful memory almost caused her to falter in her ranting. "How many times have I proved myself to you? How many more times do I have to throw myself at your feet? Do you know how much it hurts?" Her voice was cracking. "Why do you toy with me like this? Sometimes, I hate you, and sometimes, I feel like we were meant for each other! Why do you do this to me?" She felt herself slide down on her knees on the floor, her energy suddenly spent.

"Please, Sonic…" her voice was barely louder than a whisper now.

"Please… just tell me why…"

There was a ringing silence as the echoes of Amy's plea faded. _'…just tell me why… why…why…'_

Her tears silently dripped onto the ground as her chest heaved up and down for breath.

_Drip…_

_Drip…_

_Drip…_

"Amy…"

She felt herself being pulled into Sonic's embrace. She flinched.

"Amy… do you really want to know why?"

Amy felt herself become still. It was as if her very blood had stopped rushing through her veins. Time seemed to have stood still, just for this moment.

"It's because of _me_, Amy…" his voice trailed off, as he buried himself in Amy's fur.

"Amy… I'll never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me… What if Eggman tries to kill you? What if…" he choked. _'What if **I** killed you?'_

Amy's breathing hitched as she tried to blink back tears. "But that's not all, is it?"

For a while, nothing could be heard but both the hedgehogs' hearts beating in tune.

"Amy… I'm a monster…"

"I… I can't be near you…"

"What if I hurt you?"

Amy pulled back. For once, she didn't see her blue hero.

She didn't see the courage, the confidence, and the kindness in his eyes that she had fallen in love with.

She saw an ordinary hedgehog, just like any other. One that knew fear, sadness…

Something that she never thought she'd see in him.

And it was all because of her.

"Sonic…" she whispered. Sonic muted a groan in the back of his throat. He couldn't stand it when she said his name like that… it was so full of sorrow. He hated it. Amy didn't deserve to feel so much sorrow in such a short life time. No one as innocent and sweet as her should ever feel so much loneliness.

"Amy… let me protect you…"

Their faces neared. Sonic could feel Amy's rapid breathing on his face.

"Amy… just promise me that you'll let me protect you…"

Their faces were so close, Amy felt like she was losing herself into his emerald green eyes. The whole world seemed to melt away. Only Sonic was left… and he was making her promise something that seemed almost impossible to her. She blinked back the tears that sprang into her eyes.

"Sonic…" she breathed out his name. Sonic could feel his own heart pulsing faster and faster as their lips almost touched. All his senses seemed to be drowning in Amy, and for a second, all doubts of protecting Amy left his mind. "Sonic… I… I…"

"Aww… isn't this sweet?"

Both hedgehogs whipped around as a bright light from the now opened door blinded them. "Eggman…" spat out Sonic hatefully to the scientist at the door of the room outside their cage. No quirk, no hint of a joke.

"Ooohh… someone's cranky today," Eggman snickered. "Well, you'll be dead soon anyways, so why do I care?"

"Eggman! When I get out of this place, I'll torture you, _and_ your little robots so much, you'll wish you've never _met _me!"

Sonic turned in surprise at the usually gentle and kind hedgehog in his arms. _'When did she grow up so much?'_ he thought in awe.

_'She always was… you've just never noticed it…'_ said the little truthful voice in his head again.

The mad scientist turned with an amused look at the girl. "My "little" robots? Well, my "little" robots are going to have the pleasure of watching you being slowly torn to bits."

"You mean, _I'll _enjoy tearing Metal Sonic apart again. I feel sorry for him… he probably wouldn't be like this if it wasn't for you! You ruin everyone's lives!" retorted Amy scornfully.

_'Again? What does she mean by that?'_

Eggman seemed to be out of retorts. Instead, he turned to Sonic. "My friend! How are you enjoying you're new buddy?"

Sonic growled in anger, almost tearing the confinement apart. "Piss off, Eggman! Why don't you go and fuck up someone else's life, you bastard!"

Amy almost gasped out loud. _'Sonic never swears unless he's really mad… who's this "new buddy" person that can get him so mad?'_

Eggman seemed determined to not let Sonic get under his skin. "Well, well, Sonic. Been taught some new words, I see. Well, for that, I'll stretch out your torture session a little longer next time." He turned, ready to leave. _'I'm going to enjoy this…' _he thought menacingly. It seemed that all doubts of torturing and killing Sonic were gone. A true evil seemed to have finally wormed it's way into his heart.

As the door closed and the beam of light disappeared, darkness fell over the captured pair once again.

Amy tried to push back the growing despair in her heart. Though she knew that she talked tough, she was very, and truly, frightened. _'Are we going to die like this?'_

"Don't worry Amy," She looked up in the dark, to look at the face of Sonic. His smirk was back, his confidence almost catching. "I'll protect you. I'll get us both out of here." He was starting felt the familiar adrenaline rushing through his body and the old stirring of excitement at the thought of another challenge.

"I'll protect you, no matter what."

* * *

In a building, almost seemingly in the middle of no where, a ringing broke the sleepy silence.

"Who the hell is that?" cried an enraged crocodile from the middle of a paper-filled desk.

_Ring! Ring!_

"Ugh…" yawned a sleepy bee, rubbing it's eyes, as it floated into the room. "What's up?"

"Charmy, get the phone," said a chameleon in the corner to the bee.

_Ring! Ring!_

"Vector! No, please, don't kill me! I didn't eat the cake!" muttered Charmy, who was already asleep again on the ground.

"The phone? Did you say 'the phone,' Espio? That means we've got a client!" exclaimed the now excited crocodile to the chameleon who was still coolly standing in the corner. Hurriedly, he brushed all the paper off his desk, and in his haste, the telephone slid off.

Without even moving from his spot, Espio threw a kunai knife at the telephone wire, effectively pinning it to the desk.

"Chaotix Detective Agency! Vector here!" the crocodile practically yelled, rushing to pull out the knife.

"Vector! It's Knuckles!" said the voice on the other end of the line.

Vector immediately quieted at his dark tone of voice. Espio opened an eye.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Come here to Tails workshop in the Mystic Ruins. Don't worry, you'll find it. Get here, now." Then there was a click.

"What was that all about?" asked a now genuinely interested Espio.

Vector sighed. "Guess our old friend needs our help."

Espio nodded. "I'll wake Charmy."

* * *

"Are you sure about calling those idiots?" asked Rouge reproachfully as Knuckles hung up the phone. 

Knuckles nodded. "They may be idiots, but this is Sonic we're dealing with here. And knowing Sonic…" he paused, closing his eyes for a minute.

"We're gonna need all the help we can get."

* * *

**_A/N: _**OMG... half-way point to 100 reviews! THANK YOU ALL!

azngirlchibi


	8. Chapter 8 Escape!

**_A/N: _**Here's your weekly tidbit of Sonic the Hedgehog! Excuse some of the spelling mistakes, if there are any... sometimes, when I upload, a few letters and commas just mysteriously dissapear... and I'm pretty sure it's not me...

* * *

_Happy Belated B-day to my (coughs) not (coughs) wonderful little brother! This chapter is for you... though you really shouldn't be reading this in the first place

* * *

_

**Character Ages**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

Vector: 28

Espio: 24

Charmy: 14

* * *

**Disclaimer: **No... I don't own Sonic, in case you don't have anything better to do than to go around and try to sue people...

* * *

"Look at this!" said a voice, loud in the peaceful Ruins. 

Rustling noises pierced the air as several creatures emerged from the leafy canopy.

"Watcha got there, Espio?" asked Charmy, who was now thankfully awake.

Espio held up something almost invisible that glinted in the sunlight.

"Is that… a blue quill?" asked Cream, awed by Espio's skill to find something so small in the huge maze of the Ruins.

"That _has_ to be Sonic's!" Tails cried excitedly. "C'mon! I can do a scan at my workshop and…"

Knuckles held up a hand, interrupting him. "Hold on, Tails."

Everyone turned to Knuckles, who seem to freeze.

"Knuckles?" Rouge laid a hand on his shoulder.

Knuckles shivered, then shook his head. "I sense something… it's not really like the Chaos Emeralds, but…"

Slowly, he started walking around, with the gang following him, curiosity piqued. Then suddenly, he stopped, causing Rouge to bounce off of him.

"Hey!" she said, rubbing her bottom. "What's the big…"

"Here!" Knuckles shouted loudly, cutting her off and scaring the hell out of everyone. He dived into a nearby bush.

"KNUCKLES!" cried Rouge, jumping in after him.

Everyone's eyes widened, as the bush started shaking. It started thrashing back and forth, as shouts of "get it!" and "ARGH!" ripped through the air.

Then, it all stopped.

"I'VE GOT IT!" a voice shouted. Suddenly, out of the bush, a needle flew through the air towards Tails' face.

Espio, reacting quickly, threw a ninja star at it, causing it to ricochet off, landing a few inches in front of Tails at his feet.

Cream gasped. She put her arms around his shoulder. "Tails!"

Tails looked up, and Cream had to bite her lip from laughing. Tails had a look of pure horror on his face, the kind you get after watching a horror movie with some friends; his eyes were wide open, his mouth hanging, and the only noise he could make were choking sounds.

"He's ok," said Shadow coolly, after seeing him unharmed. He went over and picked up the needle. As soon as it touched his hand, however, he felt his body pulse.

He flinched. "What…?" he grabbed the needle and held it up, examining it as the sharp point glinted in the sunlight.

"You felt it too?" asked Knuckles as he brushed himself off and climbed over the bush. He, surprisingly gently, heaved Rouge up from the arms. Rouge batted his hands away, looking annoyed, though her fur was the lightest pink.

"Felt what?" asked a loud-mouthed Charmy.

"That pulse… that energy…" suddenly, Shadow snapped his fingers, and a yellow Chaos Emerald appeared. Ignoring the surprised looks, he held it close to the needle.

This time, everyone felt the pulse of energy.

"What was that?" asked Cream, shaking and moving closer to Tails.

"It felt like someone just froze my insides!" exclaimed Vector, looking thoroughly confused.

"That 'feeling,'" said Knuckles, "Is the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds. It must've been used on Sonic… and as Vector so smartly described," he continued, smirking, "'It feels like someone just froze my insides!'"

"You have something to say to me?" asked Vector angrily, holding up his fist.

"We should take them both to my place to scan!" interrupted Tails loudly, who finally recovered from the flying needle scene.

Shadow nodded. "Stand still," he ordered calmly to everyone, not seeming to be fazed or excited by this news at all.

"Chaos Control!"

* * *

"Found him!" shouted Tails a few hours later in his workshop. 

Everyone crowded around his computer, all eager to find Amy and Sonic.

"Is that where they are?" asked Charmy, pointing at the little red dot on the screen.

"Yes, it's them all right," Tails nodded. "You think you can take us there, Shadow?"

Shadow studied the map carefully. He snapped his fingers, his trusty Chaos Emerald appearing instantly. He smirked. "Hang tight. I'll get us all there."

* * *

"Storming Hearts!" 

"Sonic Wind!"

A brilliant flash lit the room as the attacks were slammed into the glass prison. Dust filled it, causing the two occupants to cough.

"Did it work, Sonic?" asked a female voice, still coughing.

The dust slowly but surely cleared and emerald green eyes met the glass with disappointment.

Sonic sighed. "Sorry, Amy. Not even a crack. Let's try a spin-dash."

Amy nodded, holding up her hammer. They had started trying to break through the glass right after Eggman had left them alone, but so far, nothing had worked. They had spent 5 days relentlessly trying to shatter the glass, but so far, nothing. The energy they spent was only replenished by the small amount of food that Eggman had "so generously" as Sonic had said once, scoffing, left for them.

The two stood close together. Amy tried to ignore her feeling of being painfully near Sonic. She turned to hide her blush.

"Ready?" asked the cobalt hedgehog.

Amy nodded. Without thinking, he grabbed Amy's hand, which caused Amy to jump.

"Are you ok?" he asked, concerned.

"Uh… yeah… let's go…" she answered. _'It feels like electricity is going through my body…ugh, what am I thinking at a time like this!'_

Both jumped up, as high as they could in the cramped space, and headed for the glass.

Amy cried out in pain as she felt herself flying backwards as soon as her spines made impact with the glass.

"Amy!" Sonic cried, rushing to her side.

Amy sat up a bit shakily. "Don't worry, I'm fine," she answered, trying to weakly stand up.

For a second, Sonic felt awed by her strength. Then, he noticed that he was holding onto Amy's hand. Quickly, he let go. _'I didn't even notice that I was holding it… it seemed… just, so natural…'_

"Maybe we should take a break…" started Sonic.

Amy shook her head furiously. "No! We can't! I said I'm fine!"

Sonic cocked his head a bit. "Look, Amy. We're gonna need our strength…"

Amy glanced at Sonic briefly. _'How can he be acting so normal?'_ she wondered. He didn't seem changed at all, except maybe he voiced his concerns a bit more. Had whatever was bothering him finally gone away? Or was it all an act?

"Sonic, are _you_ ok?"

Sonic was taken aback. "Me?"

"Yeah… well, it's just that… you seem, well…" _'Normal? No, not quite…'_

Sonic gave her a fake smile. _'This might be the last time I get to spend with you… then, I have to go. Far away from, you, our friends, everyone. I can't hurt you, Amy. I can still feel the monster inside me. It's somewhere, even if it hasn't been showing itself lately. I wish I could tell you that I have to leave soon, but it'll be too hard to leave. I know that you'll cry…'_

_'… If you cry, I don't think I can ever leave…'_

Amy eyed him, curious at his silence. "Sonic…?"

"Shh… I hear something…" he interrupted suddenly.

They both stilled, their ears swiveled towards the door. Loud, metallic clanking could be heard echoing down the hall.

The door opened. They squinted, unaccustomed to the light, but were able to make out a figure.

A robot clanked it's way to the glass. "I have been instructed to take you to Dr. Robotnik," it said in an annoyingly monotone voice.

Amy narrowed her eyes. Something wasn't right here. Wasn't Eggman afraid that they would try to make a break for freedom?

"Sure," answered Sonic in a bored voice. Amy shot him a look of surprise.

The robot inserted some codes into the door. Slowly, it slid open.

"Umm…?" muttered a confused pink hedgehog.

"C'mon. Let's do what the doctor ordered," Sonic said smoothly, stepping into the light.

Slowly, they were led out to the lighted hallway. The hallway branched out three ways, but the robot took them right.

Suddenly, it wasn't there anymore.

Amy blinked. "Come on, Ames!" shouted Sonic as he grabbed her arm and started running. Amy was barely able to keep up in her state of surprise. She turned around just in time to see the smoldering pile of scrap metal before it disappeared behind a corner.

"Eggman is probably onto us already. We've gotta get out of here as fast as we can!" Sonic snapped her out of her thoughts. Finally, she was able to run on her two feet again as her mind cleared. _'I didn't even notice Sonic destroy that robot…'_

As they were about to turn a corner, two guard robots appeared, holding up guns.

"Hi-yah!" cried Amy, swiping at them with her hammer. Both were smashed aside.

"This way!" shouted Sonic, running straight ahead. More robots were already trying to swarm in from the other corridors, trying to block their way, stepping over the ones that Amy had destroyed.

They kept running, Amy having to periodically using her speed-up power to keep up with the blue hero.

_"Warning! Warning!" _a mechanical voiced screech. _"Prisoners escaped! Two hedgehogs! Recapture alive at all costs! Warning! Warn-"_the voice suddenly stopped as Amy smashed the "emergency" button she found on the side of the wall.

"Hey! It got rid of that annoying voice didn't it?" asked Amy as Sonic cocked his eyebrow.

Sonic chuckled. Then, he heard something behind him slam. Whipping around, he saw metal doors start to close.

"Hold on, Amy!" he cried, running extra fast. Quickly, he scooped up Amy, bridal-style. Doors continued to slam around them, sometimes closing just as Sonic ran past them, very nearly squishing them. Just as Sonic was about to run past another door, however, a robot, previously invisible, appeared.

Amy quickly threw her hammer at the robot, taking it's head clean off, then picked up her hammer again as they ran past it.

"I think that's the exit!" shouted Amy above the siren's whining, pointing to her left. Sonic's shoes screeched on the ground as he turned left, towards the door she was pointing at.

"Nah-ah-ah…" said a voice coming from the loud speakers. A metal door closed behind them, and another metal door appeared over the exit.

Sonic skittered to a halt, and tried to turn right.

Another metal door.

Then, he ran left.

_SLAM!_

"We're trapped!" gasped Amy, still in Sonic's arms.

"Muahaha! Sonic, you think you and Amy can escaped with your life?" asked the voice on the intercom.

"Eggman! Why don't you come down here and face me?" shouted Sonic, knowing that he could hear him.

"Oh, no, no, no. I think I'll let my robots have some fun first…"

A trap door opened above them. Sonic jumped out of the way just in time as five robots fell down.

"Just five?" asked Sonic cockily, setting Amy down.

"They'll be more than a match for you," assured the confident scientist.

Sonic scrutinized the robots. They didn't look any different from his regular ones, except for the shiny red armor and Eggman symbol on the forehead, but just to be sure… "Amy, stay here," he ordered. Then, before she could protest, he jumped to the nearest one.

He landed on top of it, and promptly, all the robots pointed their guns at it. They fired, and Sonic jumped off so that the robot was barraged by the powerful guns. With that robot destroyed, he used a homing attack on another, and then ran right up behind the next. He ran in circles around it, with the other two robots trying to shoot him, while the robot started to almost comically jump around, trying to escape the blue burr. He ran away, heading straight for the next robot, and spin-dashed it, ricocheting off feet forward, and kicked off the face of the other robot. He smirked when he saw the last robot, pointing a gun at him. He ran, dodging each bullet fired with ease, then tripped the last one so that it smashed it's armor.

"How's that?" asked Sonic, not seeming to be tired at all.

"Very impressive," answered Eggman. "But how about this?"

Suddenly, the parts vibrated, so hard, that tremors started to shake the ground. Amy felt herself tense. Than, the parts all flew together so that it became one giant robot.

Sonic tapped his foot, looking at his wrist. "Is it done yet?" he asked, yawning.

"You always were an incompetent fool, Sonic," sighed the scientist mockingly. "Now, you will die an incompetent fool."

"Sonic… I think you better be careful with this one…" said Amy nervously, eyeing the huge robot.

"Don't worry; this'll be a piece of cake." Sonic grinned reassuringly at Amy before turning back to the new foe.

_'How come I don't feel very reassured?'_ Amy asked herself.

Before she had another chance to think, the robot started to move.

It's huge foot came crashing down, meant to squish Sonic to a pancake, but it missed. It stared at the hole it made for a minute, confused.

"Hey! Over here, big fella!"

The robot suddenly started to shake it's head. Sonic could be seen hanging on for dear life on the back of its' head.

Unable to hold on, he fell, digging himself a hole in the ground. The robot lifted his leg…

_SMASH!_

… and came into contact with Amy's Piko Piko Hammer.

Sonic shook out the numbness in his body, and stared at Amy's form in front of him. She had her hammer out, it's end stuck to the ground, the head in the way of the robot.

Then, the hammer extended, knocking the robot over so that it fell onto the ground.

"I don't suppose you can cook with that thing too, Amy?" laughed Sonic.

"Ha ha. You should be more careful!" scolded Amy, though you can see the worry in her face. "That's it! I'm helping you!"

"Amy! You can't-" Sonic stopped as her hammer flew up to parry a laser beam that the robot fired behind her back.

Amy then flipped backwards, ignoring Sonic. She did a backwards homing attack, then spin dashed along the body of the robot up to it's face, effectively knocking it back down again, and flipped back to land beside Sonic.

"I'm helping you," she said firmly.

Sonic opened his mouth to protest. Then, he closed it, and nodded.

Amy barely managed to hold back a whoop of joy. _'He's finally letting me help him! I can't let him down!'_

Together, they faced the robot struggling to get up. "I'll kill both of you!" screamed an enraged Eggman from the intercom. "Destroy them, now!"

The robot finally got up. It reared back a fist, and hurtled it towards the pair.

At the same time, they both jumped back as the fist smashed another hole in front of them. . Together, they ran up along the arm of the robot, who tried to lift his other hand to brush them off.

"Amy Flash!" shouted Amy.

A pink aura surrounded the hand. It continued to make its way towards them.

"Sonic Wind!" Sonic cried.

A powerful wind, mixed with blue energy, threw itself at the robot, but to no avail. The hand continued coming… closer…

…and closer…

_Screech…_

It stopped.

Amy felt the sweat trickling down her neck. She had stopped time around the hand momentarily, but it was taking a lot of energy out of her. Not having any rings to help her wasn't exactly great either.

The robot tried to shake it's hand, but Amy refused to let it. She felt herself trembling a bit.

"Sonic!" she shouted.

"Gotcha!" he returned. Quickly, he continued running up the robot's arm, towards it's face, where Eggman was still stupid enough to put the main controls.

On it's arm, several motion detecting guns popped up. They started firing at the speedy hedgehog.

Sonic rolled forward just in time to dodge one, then jumped to avoid another laser beam. Flipping backwards, he stopped behind one of the guns, which turned around. He smashed the head off with a kick before it could fire, and then grabbed the detached part, throwing it away towards the air away from him. The guns instantly turned to the broken part that was flying away, and while those were distracted, Sonic kept running up.

"Sonic… I can't…" Amy started to breathe hard, the pain vibrating through her. "Hurry!"

Sonic sped up, scared for Amy. He was almost able to touch it's face…

… when something hard hit him in the side.

Sonic gasped in pain. He looked down at his arm, where blood was trickling down it. He looked up to see the robot's eyes, smoking from the laser fire that had just missed his vital spots.

"Ugh…" moaned Amy. She could her vision blurring. _'I have to… hang… on…'_

Sonic saw the robot turn it's head slowly towards Amy.

"AMY!" His heart pounding, he ran towards Amy, then leaped, knocking her to the side. Both of them tumbled down, the air whistling through their ears. Sonic tried to reach out to Amy, who had fainted from the lack of energy. She was falling down headfirst. He kept on straining to reach out to Amy, his fingers almost brushed her fur…

"Chaos Control!"

_'Shadow?'_

Something caught him by his good arm. He looked up to see two fluffy tails spinning around. "Tails!"

"Sonic! Are you hurt?" asked the said kitsune.

Sonic spun his head around wildly. "Amy! Where's Amy?"

"I've got her." Sonic twisted around as best as he could in midair to see Cream gripping tightly onto Amy, her ears flapping. "What happened to her?" she asked as soon as they landed.

"She just used up too much energy…" he replied quickly. He turned to see everyone else already fighting the robot.

The robot was being overwhelmed by so many fighters coming at him at once. Even the extra defenses on him were not enough. It started to tip…

"Chaos Spear!" shouted Shadow.

Yellow, spear-like energy made their way from Shadow to the robot's face. They smashed through the glass, and the face started to smoke.

The robot tipped a bit more, rocking back and forth. Then, slowly, it fell to the ground, the echo screaming throughout the whole base.

Amy stirred a bit. Sonic noticed, and ran towards her, his arms tenderly lifting her head up.

"What happened…?" asked Amy groggily.

"Don't worry, Amy. You're ok…"

"Sonic! Your arm!" Amy grabbed his hand gently, inspecting the wound.

Sonic blushed lightly. "It's nothing…"

Suddenly, his body was sent flying towards the metal wall.

Amy bolted up, ignoring the headache, to see Knuckles gliding almost angrily towards him. He pinned Sonic to the wall by his arms.

"Where's the Master Emerald?" he demanded, baring his teeth.

"Get off him, Knuckles!" screamed Amy. She ran at him, and with difficulty, pried him off of Sonic.

"Where? Where is it?" asked the struggling echidna again, now being held back by Vector, Espio, Charmy, and Rouge as well.

"The Master Emerald? Is it here?" asked Sonic, bewildered by Knuckles's sudden attack, his bloody arm throbbing with pain.

"I know it's here. Don't play dumb!"

"Sonic, if you know where the Master Emerald is," said Shadow, a bit of urgency in his voice, "You _have_ to let us know…"

"I don't know where it is!" Sonic shot back. "Why would I know…"

All of the sudden, the lights went out.

* * *

**_A/N_**: Yeah... this chapter has more action than emotion... Anyway, hope you like!

azngirlchibi


	9. Chapter 9 Trust Me

**_A/N: _**...I'll talk later...

* * *

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Sonic (bla bla bla) I never will (bla bla bla)

* * *

**Character Ages**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

Vector: 28

Espio: 24

Charmy: 14

* * *

"What the…?"

"Amy? Are you alright?"

"Sonic? Sonic, is that you?" Amy blindingly groped forwards in the darkness until she felt a fur-covered arm.

"Sonic, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." He strained his eyes to try to see her in the thick darkness. "Are you hurt?"

Amy shook her head. "No," she said out loud, realizing he couldn't see her. "Where's everyone else?"

"Right here," said a voice.

"Rouge?" guessed Amy tentatively.

"You got it," Rouge replied. "What happened?"

"I think Robotnik killed the lights on us," answered a voice that Amy would guess to be Vector.

"Why would he do that?" asked a slightly higher voice.

"Tails? Is that you, buddy?"

"I'll handle this," said a deeper, masculine voice. Everyone heard the sound of someone snapping, and then an almost eerie, yellow glow lifted up a bit of the darkness.

Sonic blinked at the sudden light. "Hey, Shadow! Long time no see!"

"Be quiet, Faker. We have to find the Master Emerald that _you_ stole."

"That I _what_?" asked a slightly angered hedgehog. "Are you _accusing_ me?"

"Don't act like nothing happened!" growled Knuckles. "You stole my Master Emerald, even used Rouge as hostage! Not to mention that you almost…almost…" Knuckles stopped.

"Almost what?" half-shouted Sonic, though he was afraid of the answer.

"YOU ALMOST KILLED AMY!" he roared back.

"You think I don't know that?" Sonic couldn't take it anymore. He had to let it out. "You think that I wanted to? That I did this willingly? You really think that I'd help Eggman?" Sonic gulped in air. This was the first time that he had shouted to his friends, but didn't they understand? "I would never do anything like this to Amy! Especially since I…" He clamped his mouth shut, realizing what he was just about to say.

"Sonic…" said a quiet voice. Nine pairs of eyes turned to Amy. "Knuckles said that you went to Angel Island and stole the Master Emerald. And…from… from what he said…" she swallowed, preparing to give the news.

"You… you almost killed him, Sonic."

Sonic's mouth dropped. A ringing filled his ears, his mind went blank. It was like his very breathing had stopped.

_'You… you almost killed him, Sonic.'_

Sonic looked up. No one was able to meet his eyes.

Not his rivals…

Not his friends…

Not even Tails, who was, in a way, his little brother.

He turned his attention back to Amy. "Amy…"

Amy's ears flattened at the way he said her name. She blinked back the hot, burning tears. Forcefully, she turned her head up to meet Sonic's eyes.

The question, _'Is this true?'_ died in his throat. One look at Amy was all he needed.

"Who else?" he murmured.

"Who else?" repeated Amy, not understanding.

"Is there anyone else… that I…"

"No…" said Amy, quietly. "Just me and Knuckles."

_'Just…?'_ Sonic thought to himself.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" he said, weakly. The sound of his own apology echoed inside of him almost mockingly. "I…"

Amy walked up to him. "Sonic…you had no control…"

Sonic looked up at the girl. "Even so…" he voice shook a bit. "I almost killed you guys… What if… I really do kill you… all of you?" He stared remorsefully into jade green eyes. "How… how can you trust me not to kill you…?"

"I…" Amy was suddenly at a loss for words. _'Because I love you…'_ her mind whispered. Then how come she couldn't get her mouth to form the words that she so desperately wanted to say? Speaking suddenly seemed like trying to eat rocks.

"We trust you, Sonic," said a meek little voice.

Sonic jerked up his head. "Tails…"

"Sonic, all of us trust you…" he continued, his voice growing stronger with each word. "Sonic, if you didn't trust us, we never would've known someone like you. You're a hero, Sonic."

Knuckles stepped forward. "I… I'm… sorry, that I jumped you," he grunted out. "You know how much I hate apologizing… and Tails is right. You could've destroyed me the first time you met me, remember? I was… being foolish… I actually _believed_ that Eggman wanted to help me…" he sighed, the memory still very fresh in his mind. "No matter how much I hate to say this to you… you're a good friend."

"Sonic…" started Cream. "You saved my mother…" she smiled. "I'll never forget that."

"I know you're a good guy, Sonic," said Rouge genuinely. The Chaotix Team nodded.

"Hmph," Shadow scoffed. "Just don't die on me, Faker." Then, he smirked. "Remember, _I'm_ the one who's going to finish you."

Sonic stared at everyone gathered around him. "So… you… really trust me?" he asked in an-almost hopeful voice.

"Don't turn soft on us," replied Shadow sarcastically. "I don't think I'll be able to even punch you if you start bawling all over us."

Amy hugged Sonic, and he surprised everyone, even himself, by not pushing her away. "See, Sonic?" she asked. "We're all in this, together."

Sonic smiled, something that he hadn't done for days. A true smile, and it lit up his face like the sunlight after a storm. "Thank you, Amy," he whispered into her ear. Amy smiled back. Those three whispered words were something that she knew that she would always cherish in her heart.

"Alright, enough with the mushy stuff," interrupted Charmy, buzzing over their heads. "Let's grab that Master Emerald and bust out of here!"

Sonic nodded. _'My friends… they believe in me…'_

_'They even forgave me…'_

_'Now, I have to forgive myself…'

* * *

_

"Ok, Knuckles. Do your thing," Rouge cued.

Knuckles nodded. He closed his eyes. Slowly, he let his energy roam, doing a full sweep of the base.

Rouge tapped her foot. "Are you done yet?"

Knuckles opened one eye. "I don't see _you_ helping."

"I left my detector at home," admitted Rouge, though she didn't seemed a bit sheepish.

Knuckles sighed, and went back to work. After several minutes of silence, he sighed again and opened both his eyes.

"Sorry, guys. My range isn't long enough to cover the whole base. This thing is _huge_."

"There's a simple solution to that problem. I'll just Chaos Control us all over to the other side of this building, and you can scan from there," Shadow answered. "Unless…" he turned to Sonic. "You're _sure…"_

"Stubborn as always, aren't you, Shadow?" The blue hedgehog grinned. "I don't have a clue on where the Master Emerald is," he said, very seriously this time.

"Can we get going?" asked Knuckles. "The sooner we get my Emerald, the sooner we can leave."

"_You're_ Emerald?" Rouge narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant, my _smelly_ Emerald that 'sinks of echidna,'" Knuckles smirked.

Amy giggled. _'They're still the same…'_

"What? I… well…" Rouge sputtered a few more times. "Shadow! Let's go! Aren't we going now?"

Shaking his head, Shadow threw the Chaos Emerald up, before catching it again. "Chaos Control!"

* * *

"Ahh… so they're still coming for the Emerald…"

Robonik smiled in his chamber. It was amazing what something like turning off the lights could do. Not only did he get all the nuisances together, but the last Chaos Emerald he was looking for was in Shadow's possession too. He had planned to ambush them in the dark, but plans don't always work out, right?

"Metal…" A robot duplication of Sonic appeared beside him. "Greet our guests, will you?" The robot nodded. The door behind him slid open, and he heard the sounds of quiet clanking slowly fade away.

* * *

_A.N: You don't know how tempting it was to end it there. Whoops, sorry. Keep reading.

* * *

_

A brilliant flash lit up the chamber of another room.

"Ok, we're here," said Shadow.

Quickly, Knuckles closed his eyes. A few moments of silence passed in the room, which, surprisingly, was dark as well.

"Sonic, why is this room dark?" Amy asked a bit nervously.

"Eggman could've bailed," answered Sonic, though he was a bit doubtful of that.

Abruptly, Knuckles opened both of his piercing violet eyes. "Duck!" he shouted.

Reacting quickly, Sonic pulled Amy down, and felt a _whoosh_ pass his head.

"Looking for this?"

The fighters looked up at a huge computer that almost touched the ceiling. Two orange eyes glowed in the dark, and something brightly green was floating above his head.

"Hey! Isn't that that 'Metal Sonic' fella we fought way back?" asked Vector.

Gleaming metal teeth glinted. They curved up into a cruel smile. It clapped it's hands, and the lights flashed on.

"Yep, it's him," Charmy confirmed.

Metal Sonic sneered down at them all, a look of pure malice in his eyes which clearly guaranteed a painful death.

"Hello, low-lives," he said by the way of a greeting. "Enjoying your stay?"

Knuckles pointed an angry fist at him. "Give me back my Master Emerald!"

"Yeah! Give it to me!" demanded Rouge, pointing a finger at him.

"Do you want it that badly?" he asked, scanning them all with his eyes. "Well then…" he grabbed the Emerald and jumped down from the high spot, landing smoothly on the ground without a sound. He held it out. "Take it… if you can."

Blindly, Knuckles lunged at him, his eyes blazing.

Calmly, Metal jumped, his rocket boosters giving him an extra lift. Knuckles stuck his fists into the computer, and began climbing up. Meanwhile, Metal Sonic was hanging on the side of the computer, his hands and feet sticking helping him stick to it without falling off it, still holding out the Master Emerald with his other hand mockingly.

"Is that the best that the Guardian can give me?" he taunted.

"Hiya!"

The robot looked up to see the white bat coming at him, feet first. He held out his hand, and caught her by the boot.

Rouge barely had any time to register surprise. She was thrown down onto Knuckles, who had almost climbed all the way to where Metal Sonic was. They fell hard onto the ground, creating a huge dent where they landed.

Before they even had the chance to recover, Metal Sonic charged down towards them.

"Chaos Spear!"

The energy that Shadow called on threw themselves on Metal Sonic, who was thrown to the side into another computer and crashed through the screen. Shards of glass scattered onto the ground. Electricity crackled around him as wires snapped and started to wave dangerously around him. Tails jumped ran to the two fallen friends and dragged them to safety.

Knuckles slowly sat up, knocking Rouge off him in the process.

"Ugh…" Rouge rubbed her head. "What was the big deal? That hurt!"

"Who was the one who fell on top of me?" retorted Knuckles.

"We have bigger problems to worry about!" Charmy shouted. He pointed to Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic slid down from the computer, and fell to the ground. Very slowly, he got back to his feet. He looked up at all of them, taking them all in. "Is… that the best you can do?" he challenged. "The Master Emerald isn't going to be coming to you. I'll take you all on." He faced them, his demeanor was very serious. He wanted a challenge, and he was going to get it.

The fighters faced off. It was like an understanding had gone through them, though no words were exchanged.

This time, they were all deadly serious.

"Get ready, Metal!" shouted Knuckles. He knew that he was ready this time. He raised his fists. "Hammer punch!" He threw his knuckles into the ground, and an earthquake shook the base. All the flyers grabbed everyone who didn't have the power of flight and lifted them to safety.

Knuckles looked up. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Metal floating gently in the air. He charged towards Knuckles.

Cream saw this. "Thunder shoot!" Immediately, Amy, who was being carried by Cream, curled into a ball. For a second she felt Cream's shoes on her back, before she was kicked towards Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic was blown back by the combined forces of Cream and Amy's attack, but he dug his hands and feet into the ground, and managed to land upright. He jumped up just in time to avoid being melted by Vector's Fire Breath, and landed on the crocodile's head.

A whistling noise to the right made him duck. Kunai knives barely missed his head by inches, managing to only graze the metal of his spines. He jumped up, using the crocodile as a propeller, and floated in the air by his feet, prepared to attack the chameleon that he knew had thrown those knives at him. He was a bit confused when he couldn't see him.

"Leaf Swirl!"

Metal Sonic turned just in time to see the chameleon's legs turn visible and connect with his face. _'So he can turn invisible, eh?'_

Metal Sonic skidded a bit along the floor, before he flipped backwards to land in a crouching position.

"Thunder shoot!" This time, Shadow the black hedgehog was heading straight for him, his stiff, hard spines ready to run right through him.

Metal Sonic held up a hand, catching him. He threw him back towards the one who called the attack, Tails, who was bowled over. They both landed in a heap on the floor.

Suddenly, Metal's back started to glow.

"What-?" Charmy was emerging out of his back! Everyone turned to stare.

"Gotcha!" cried Charmy. He crawled on top of his face and clung onto it.

Metal Sonic started to claw at him, but the brave and persistent bee stayed there, refusing to let go. Just as Metal Sonic was about to rip the little bee's arms off, Charmy flew off, and the robot was met by a face-full of blue quills.

Metal Sonic flew back, and this time, he went right through the huge computer in the middle of the room. He was starting to look pretty beat up. His face was a mess, with the glass that made up his eyes starting to crack, and wires were starting to show themselves. A few pieces of metal were barely clinging onto him, and he had burns here and there.

"Give up yet?" asked Sonic, looking down at his dangerous rival. _'One thing bad about him being exactly like me is that he probably won't give up.'_

As if reading his thoughts, the duplicate weakly stood up. "H-h-how… how did that bee…?"

"Remember when I threw that knife at you?" asked Espio. "There was a flower on it, and when it grazed you, it fell off onto your back."

"Aaah…" said Metal, as if this was a classroom he was sitting in, and he'd just learned the meaning of life. "It was foolish of me to forget… that bee has the power to travel between flowers, doesn't he? And I suppose that he carries a flower around with him?" He got a nod from Charmy. "Yes… very foolish of me… but do you really think that I'll give up?" With that, he lunged at Sonic.

Sonic ducked. With Metal's Sonic belly above him, he jumped up, crashing his sharp quills into his belly, sending him rocketing up. Sonic leaped up, reaching him, then grabbing him and throwing him down to the ground where the floor cracked from the impact.

Before the dust could even clear, Metal erupted from the cloud, grabbing for the nearest person to him – Knuckles.

Knuckles held up his hands, managing to grab Metal Sonic by the face. "Power Flash!"

A burst of light released from his hands. Knuckles threw him, but this time, Metal Sonic was too disorientated and blinded from the light to get back on his feet. He felt himself slam into something hard, and he felt it splinter and crack beneath him.

"Black Wave!" Rouge waved her hands at the robot that was now almost paralyzed in the ground, but was still trying to get up.

Metal Sonic screeched out in pain. That attack had turned the blinding light into complete darkness. The abrupt change was overloading his sensors! Up no longer seemed to be up, down no longer up. He could hear the sound of a fly that was in the room amplified ten times, yet his rival and friends were soft and quiet. The ground felt fluffy, but the air around him seemed to crush his chest. Nothing made sense… nothing made sense! All he could do was scream and scream.

"Now!" Rouge shouted over the screams.

"Charm Ray!"

"Thunder Arrow!"

"Fire Breath!"

"Shuriken-stars!"

"Chaos Spear!"

"Storming Hearts!"

"Sonic Wind!"

The final attack roared as it neared Metal Sonic. No one could survive it. It was not just because of how strong it was… it was the beliefs that it represented as well.

Friendship…

Trust…

Love…

… Something, that as Sonic watched the one lone robot facing them realized, he had, and needed, to survive.

Everyone turned away from the increasingly blinding light…

* * *

**_A/N: _**I know! I'm so evil (smiles). Will Metal die? Or will he live? Find out!

* * *

**_I'm starting to answer to some anonymous reviews!_**

**A man without a name: **Sorry about the spelling mistakes. If you've read my note, I said that some of the letters and commas sometimes just dissapear. Bad uploader maybe? Oh well. Thnx for reading!

**hedge8701: **lol did I get the numbers right? Anyway, I update weekly (No, I can't go any faster). Maybe I shouldn't have added that cliffy... (covers head) don't hurt me!

* * *

Those are only the ones that reviewed chapter 8! I'll start answering the others... maybe...

azngirlchibi


	10. Chapter 10 Sacrifice

**_A/N: _**Yay! is finally up and running again! I couldn't log in since forever, and I was practically smashing my computer on the wall to make them hurry up (poor computer... it wasn't it's fault...) Anyways, here's the next chapter!

* * *

**Character Ages**

Sonic: 23

Amy: 20

Tails: 16

Cream: 14

Eggman: Unknown

Metal Sonic: Unknown

Knuckles: 24

Rouge: 26

Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be...

Vector: 28

Espio: 24

Charmy: 14

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Do people actually even read this? Oh well. Sonic belongs to The Sonic Team! But I keep Shadow! (gets pelted by things from angry fangirls). Ok! Just kidding... (sniff)

* * *

"Black Shield…" 

"What!"

Was it his own voice that said that? Sonic couldn't tell anymore. It was so hard to tell anything apart. All his sense seemed to have been driven away from his body. He couldn't feel Amy's soft fur on his. Where was she? Was he himself even alive?

As the bright light slowly faded, he felt the cold hardness of the metal floor become sharper and harder. When did he end up on the ground?

Slowly, ignoring the protest of his bloody arm, he pushed himself up.

His eyes widened when they met something that he thought would be impossible.

"No way…"

A huge trench in the middle of the room showed the destruction caused by the attack. Almost nothing that was in its' way was left standing. Computers were smashed, wires snapped. Glass from the lights, and machine parts, were littered on the ground, and the ceiling had blown off. The sky had taken a dark and murky colour, and thunder was starting to roar overhead.

But Sonic paid little attention to any of this.

"Metal…" he whispered in shock.

The metal creature was still standing. Yes, he was still alive. A black protective energy shield flickered around him, and the Master Emerald glowed brightly in his hands.

Sonic groaned into the silence. "T-talk about… persistent…" he managed to utter out.

A broke him out of his shock. "Sonic…"

"Amy!" For a second, that name made him forget all about Metal Sonic. The dirt beside him was starting to shift and move. Frantically, he pulled away at the litter on top, quickly uncovering a shivering, pink form. Gently, he helped her up.

"Is that…" Amy winced a bit as she shakily tried to stand up on her two legs. "Metal…"

"Oh… don't tell me…"

They looked up as Tails, Cream, Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix Team made their way through the ruins towards them. Cream pointed weakly to the robot still surrounded by the Black Shield. "Please tell me that's not…"

"Metal Sonic?" answered Tails. "He looks alive… but just barely."

Cautiously, they approached the robot holding the Master Emerald.

"Heheheh…"

Sonic held out an arm, signaling them to stop.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, suspicious.

Metal Sonic continued to chuckle to himself, not seeming to hear Sonic. Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed out loud. It was a frightening sound to hear. His laugh toiled through the silent air, causing shivers to run up and down the heroes and heroines's spines. Lightening and thunder started to clash above him, and laughing, shadowy figures danced along the walls.

Slowly, the drunken laughter quieted down, though he continued to snicker. Almost admiringly, he held out the Master Emerald, gazing at it intensely.

"This Emerald…" he twirled it around, it's soft, green light reflecting in his eyes. "It's truly a marvelous object, is it not?"

No one moved a muscle as the seemingly crazed robot continued talking.

"Who knew that the Master Emerald, which is supposed to be created to stop the wars, to stop the strife that was caused by the Chaos Emeralds, would posses so much darkness within it? Enough to protect me from all your attacks?"

Knuckles blinked. "Darkness?" he asked. "The Master Emerald is the purest thing that there is! How dare you say that it possesses darkness!"

Metal Sonic lowered his gaze. He met Knuckles's glare, looking at it evenly. "Echidna, don't you know that there is no such thing as purity?" He shifted his gaze to Sonic's. "Our friend here is a fine example of that."

Sonic's eyes flashed. A bright, green fire seemed to have lit within it. "Why you…" He tried to run to Metal, only to have Shadow and Amy hold him back. "Let me go!" he shouted, struggling against his friends' hold on him.

The robot laughed cruelly again. "You see…" he said, pointing to the hedgehog who was still struggling. "That's how Dr. Robotnik controlled him."

Sonic froze. Despite himself, he felt himself want to know how he had been controlled. He couldn't even feel his friends holding him anymore. All he could sense was his copy's voice.

"Who would've guessed?" The robot sneered down at them, his eyes gleaming with hatred. "Even the great Sonic, protector of the world, would posses such a strong evil inside him?"

_'No…' _Amy gaped at Metal. _'Sonic possessing evil?'_

_'No… not Sonic… not him!'_

"You see," he continued, "Ivo Robotnik found a powerful spell that one of the echidna tribes had secretly created. No one else knew about it. Anyone found trying to leak information was instantly killed."

Now it was Knuckles's turn to be shocked. He was so sure that he had known everything about the Emerald - all it's secrets, it's history, it's powers. But now…

Metal Sonic interrupted his thoughts. "This particular tribe hated the idea of having a Master Emerald. They loved the powerful Chaos Emeralds, the energy they had, the potential power that they could unlock. So, when that Master Emerald was to be in their care, they cast that spell on it that could be used anytime one wished. And guess what it was?" He didn't even pause to give them thought. "When the Master Emeralds and the Chaos Emeralds are put together, the spell is chanted. Then, this spell could be used on someone to release their inner "monster" by releasing the negative Chaos energy into one's body. They will start wanting blood, yearning for blood, _needing_ blood. Not only that, but they are supplied with an unlimited amount of power."

The story settled itself in everyone, shocking them all into silence. _'That was… exactly how I felt when I was…'_ Sonic couldn't finish the thought, but now he knew how he was being used.

"But how were you able to control Sonic when you didn't have all the Emeralds?" Tails, the first to overcome the shock, asked.

"Oh, that? That was easy." Metal seemed to be enjoying the fact that he had them all stunned by his news. "The doctor managed to turn the dark Chaos Energy into fluid form, even though the risks were high that he would fail and maybe even kill himself. He's only done it a few times, which is why he got Sonic to steal the Master Emerald for him."

"I went around collecting the Chaos Emeralds, preparing for this day."

"Preparing for the chance…"

"… To kill you all."

Thunder rumbled, accompanying this proclamation. Near silence followed, the air thick with the feeling of horror.

"Glad to see you all alive."

Sonic's head shot up. _'Eggman.'_

There he was, stomping in from the shadows in his Egg Walker. And what was that with him?

"The Chaos Emeralds!" exclaimed Knuckles.

Sure enough, the 6 jewels floated around him in a protective circle, the colours shimmering in the air.

"Metal, I said to greet them, not kill them!" The doctor looked with almost light amusement down at the scene; like this was a game show he was watching.

He turned to Shadow. "Enough chit-chat; I won't beat around the bush. Give me the Chaos Emerald," he said, bluntly.

Shadow was a bit taken aback by this demand, though he didn't show it. "No," he answered back, simply.

Eggman just stared a few more moments. "I guess…" he sighed loudly over the thunder. "… You leave me with no choice…" He pressed a button on his dash board.

The Chaos Emeralds flashed. They released beams of energy that shot into the sky. The mixed and twirled together, until none of the colours were visible, and all you could see was a bright, white light.

The light seemed to curve down. Before anyone could shout a warning, or even run, the light shot itself at Amy Rose.

Amy screamed. The light was wracking itself through her body. It wasn't killing her, but it threw her nerves over the edge. It was like someone was dangling her over a pit, threatening to drop her at any moment. Her veins were on fire, her heart pumping so hard it was like it was going to blow from her chest. She tried to breathe, but it was like the light tried to force itself down her throat, burning that as well. A roaring sound blocked the cries of her friends as they were blown back by the power of the Chaos Emeralds.

"Amy! No!" Sonic tried to reach out to her, but the white energy shocked him, throwing him back. "Amy! Amy!" He couldn't do anything! He felt so useless as he watched Amy scream, his heart screaming for her as well. Blindly, he tried to spin dash through the light, only to be thrown back again into the floor, cutting himself on the fallen debris. Again and again, he tried to plunge into the white energy, only to be thrown back again and again, Amy's pained screams tearing at him from the inside out.

Tails grabbed his best friend's gloved hand as he, again, tried to save Amy. "Sonic! Stop! It's not going to work!"

Sonic angrily wrenched his arm away. "If it was Cream in there, you wouldn't stop either, would you?"

Before Tails could answer back, they heard a voice say quietly, yet clearly, "Stop."

Eggman didn't stop what he was doing to Amy, but he turned his attention to Shadow.

"I… I'll give you the Chaos Emerald," said Shadow. "But you must let Amy go. Now."

Robotnik smiled widely. "I knew you would comply… but that's not all I want."

"Eggman! Just let Amy go!" Sonic couldn't believe how he sounded. He was actually _pleading_ to the evil doctor.

But, this was Amy.

This was the one that he truly loved.

"I will," replied the doctor.

"But you, Sonic, must come with me."

Silence followed, only interrupted by the clashing of thunder and Amy's desperate screams. His friends stared at him, watching as he decided on a nearly impossible choice.

_Boom_

Without conveying any emotion. Sonic nodded.

Dr. Robotnik smirked. Pressing another button on his board, Amy was dropped unceremoniously on the floor, where she landed, half-unconscious. Before Sonic could even run to her, however, the Chaos energy redirected itself at Sonic.

It didn't touch him though. The bright light separated itself into six colours. They swirled around him, creating a sort of barrier that blocked Sonic from the outside world. He couldn't hear anything but complete silence. He couldn't see anything either, just colours. Sonic didn't dare try to break out. He was afraid that Dr. Eggman might try to kill Amy if he did, but with all his heart and soul, he hoped she was okay.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the outside, Robotnik had his hands out towards Shadow. 

"The Chaos Emerald, if you will."

Shadow had no choice. He couldn't Chaos Control them out (_'That doctor will just find us again.')_, nor could he attack them, fearing that Sonic might get killed. So, slowly, deliberately slowly, he walked over to the scientist, and placed the Emerald at his feet, walking back without ever taking his eyes off him.

The egg-shaped doctor extended a metal claw in his vehicle. It grabbed the yellow Emerald, and it floated around him with the others.

"Fools!" he laughed evilly. "I now have the final Emerald! And you probably know what that means…"

"No! I won't let you!"

Amy, though weak, was still alive. Even though her fur was disheveled, and her dress was beyond repair, she still tried to get up. Cream ran to her side, supporting her as she got up. "Give back Sonic!" she demanded, her voice hoarse from screaming.

Dr. Robotnik laughed. "Do you honestly think that I'll give him back just because you've asked?"

Eyes flaming, she tore herself away from Cream. No one tried to stop her as she ran towards the Egg Walker, hammer drawn.

Metal Sonic jumped in front of the machine, just as Amy reached them. "Black Shield!"

Amy was thrown back on impact, her hammer flying out of her hands as she skidded backwards on the floor. She started to cough, and a bitter, red liquid flew out of her mouth.

Rouge flew the short distance from her to Amy. "Amy, you've got to pull yourself together! You can't just recklessly charge at him!"

She ignored the white bat who was now pulling her up. With blood still running down her face, she faced Metal.

"Doesn't it shame you?" she asked, panting.

The robot was surprised at this sudden change in attitude. "Shame me? I have nothing to be ashamed about!" he boasted. "I am the perfect creature."

Amy's eyes saddened, almost with pity. "The perfect creature? Then why are you helping him?" she nodded towards the doctor behind him. "Why do you so willingly throw yourself in front of him? It's not like he appreciates you. You're just his servant, his slave to do his bidding."

The robot curled his mouth into an amused smile. "Do you really think I'm doing this for recognition?"

Amy blinked. "Well than, what are you doing this for?"

His smile grew even wider. "Look at that prison over there. You see the one that holds your friend? He's about to die. And when he does, no one will be stronger than I. No one! No one at all!" He laughed again, though this time, the thunder was so loud, it was muffled by the raging skies. "I will be the master of every living thing!

Amy wasn't fazed. On the contrary, she seemed to soften even more with pity. "Metal… don't you remember that you've tried that-"

"Silence!" This time, it was Dr. Robotnik who had shouted that. _'They don't need to know that I've erased that part of his memory,'_ he thought silently to himself. "Metal, give me the Master Emerald."

Complying, the huge Emerald that Metal Sonic had hefted so easily for all this time, was laid down before him.

All the Emeralds started to pulse together in time. Sonic's prison was brought nearer, as if pulled by an invisible force. The Chaos Emeralds left Eggman to surround it, and the Master Emerald floated above it.

"No! Stop, please!" Amy felt her tears fall, but the two evil ones didn't pay any heed to her pleas.

"Stop this!" Knuckles tired to fly in and interrupt this ceremony, but he was blown back as if an invisible barrier protected it.

Ignoring them, Eggman pressed another button on his dashboard, and a hologram popped up before him. It was the image of ancient writing encrypted on a stone tablet.

The sky roared louder than ever. Lightening illuminated the scene, and the first drops of rain began to fall.

Dr. Robotnik took a deep breath, and then began to chant.

* * *

_'What's happening out there?'_ Sonic thought to himself. He hadn't moved an inch since he had been captured. He couldn't if he tried. Whenever he tried to move, something would zap him slightly, like a warning. He didn't want to move either, fearing for Amy's safety. 

**_'Oh, she's not going to be safe, as long as you are alive.'_**

Sonic felt his breathing hitch. _'Not you…'_

The voice inside him laughed maniacally. **_'I'm finally being freed. You cannot banish me this time, Sonic…'_**

Almost faintly, a strong, steady chanting reached Sonic's ears.

_'No… get out! Get out!'_

_**'I will be with you as long as you live. And as long as I'm here, you will feed me and my desires…'**_

The chanting continued to grow louder and louder. Unbearably louder.

_'Leave me alone! Leave me and my friends alone!'_

_**'Leave your friends, hmm? Then you won't mind if I kill... your love?'**_

Sonic almost stopped fighting for consciousness in his fear. '_I… I don't have alove…'_

The voice almost seemed to shout over the chanting. It echoed in his head, bouncing around in his mind. **_'Sonic, I am you. I am a part of you. Do you think I won't know something as simple as who you deeply care for?'_**

Sonic couldn't even reply this time. He felt the same sensation he did before as he started to lose himself.

He was falling…

Falling…

But this time, he knew that he might never stop falling.

_'Amy… I love you…'_

_'I'm… I'm sorry…'_

_

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_

**_A/N: _**(Wearing a flame-proof suit) Ok, I know you guys are gonna hate me for this... (braces self) But... the next chapter might take a little longer to write, since I want it to be one of the highlights in my story (gulps as people draw out bazookas and starts writing flames). (Whimpers) Plz forgive me?

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**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**Sofia**: Thnx for reading and reviewing almost all my chapters! I appreciate the support!

azngirlchibi


	11. Chapter 11 Love?

**_A/N: _**LOL I bet you guys are getting really tired of me putting up the wrong chapters... heh, whoops. Anyways, in case you're wondering, no, it didn't really take me this long to type up this chapter. The documents page wouldn't let me upload for some reason... it must hate me. Also, I can't keep up with the chapter/week thing anymore. No, I'm not too lazy, but my mom won't let me go on the computer everyday anymore, only on weekends, or for homework. And that's the other thing. ALL MY TEACHERS ARE PILING HOMEWORK ON ME LIKE THERE'S NO TOMMOROW!

Yeah... you probably don't care, do you?

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**Disclaimer: **If I owned Sonic, I would use the money to outlaw homework...

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**Character Ages**

_Sonic: 23_

_Amy: 20_

_Tails: 16_

_Cream: 14_

_Eggman: Unknown_

_Metal Sonic: Unknown_

_Knuckles: 24_

_Rouge: 26_

_Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be..._

_Vector: 28_

_Espio: 24_

_Charmy: 14

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_They say that nothing is truly pure…_

_No living thing has ever existed without committing even a single sin…_

_Light cannot exist without darkness…_

_…and not even the sky is always blue…

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_

The sky seemed to howl with rage. The tumultuous wind roared, only overtaken in sound by the thunder as it crashed deafeningly. Lightening flashed and danced, leaping from one dark, billowing cloud to another, illuminating the scene that was far, far below.

The rain was starting to fall harder and harder around Amy. She scarcely felt them though, as they mixed with her tears, as it dripped into her fur and slid onto the ground. She couldn't feel Rouge's arms as they tightened around her shoulders, and she couldn't feel the eyes of her friends as they watched the ceremony unfold. A ceremony that her hero and love, Sonic, had sacrificed himself to be apart of…

_'Just to save me…'_

_'Just because I was the one in danger again…'_

The white sphere that contained Sonic seemed to spin faster and faster. The Chaos Emeralds glowed brightly as the energy was sapped from them, and the Master Emerald pulsed as the ancient words of the dark spell slipped from Dr. Robotnik's lips.

High above, the lightening seemed to flash more and more brilliantly, dazzling everyone's eyes, even though they weren't even looking at it. They seemed to dance with even more velocity, almost lifelike, almost like they were rearing back their heads; a wild horse without a rider as it strikes the earth over and over.

Then, one of the riders-less lightening bolts charged from the sky, and hit the white prison.

Beams of light exploded from the sphere. They shone in all directions, blinding everyone who was watching. Amy shielded her eyes with her hand as she tried to look through her fingers, hoping against fate that Sonic will emerge from the light unharmed and unchanged.

The light ebbed away ever slowly, until the only light left was from the flashed of lightening as the storm wore on.

Amy still had her eyes covered for a long while. She was afraid…

Afraid of what she'll see once she emerged from her sanctuary.

Afraid of the one soul she thought would never hurt her.

But she knew that she couldn't hide forever.

So she uncovered her eyes…

The first thing she saw was a golden-quilled, floating hedgehog in the space where the confinement had once been, the wounds that he had carried now gone. Scattered around the form and now dripping with rain water were the Chaos Emeralds, useless and drained of the energy they needed to remain balanced. The Master Emerald floated slightly above the golden hedgehog's head for a while, almost as if it was weak. Then, it too crashed onto the ground, the sound barely heard above the storm, but amplified to everyone's ears.

There was another flash of lightening, illuminating the hedgehog's face.

Then, his eyes flew open.

Pools of blood-red eyes stared back at them all. Cruel, cold eyes, and to Amy, it felt as if they were looking right through her.

Those eyes made her feel everything around her melt away.

The destroyed base faded.

The monstrous storm dimmed.

One by one, her friends disappeared into nothingness.

All that was left was the darkness, her, and the blood-lusting eyes of Sonic.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before Super Sonic spoke.

"Who was the one who freed me?"

His words seemed to be carried by the very wind itself, chilling everyone to the bone.

Eggman seemed to be awed by his very own creation as he stepped forward within his machine.

"It was I, Dr. Robotnik," he replied in an almost grand voice, hiding his awe.

A ghost of a cruel smirk flitted across in hedgehog's features. "Ah, my good friend Eggman, huh?"

From behind his indigo sunglasses, Eggman's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn't counted on Sonic to still have retained all his memories.

Super Sonic laughed, as if reading his thoughts. "Did you expect me to be a confused, lonely hedgehog stuck in a big, wide world when you released me?" he asked disdainfully, looking down at the doctor.

Dr. Robotnik felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck, fear starting to edge it's way through his body. _'This is not going the way it's supposed to!'_ he thought, a bit frantic now that his adversary was starting to watch him with a wicked smile on his face.

"Were you planning on using me to do your bidding?" he half-snarled as he floated ever closer. Eggman stepped back a little, stammering in fear.

"I… I…"

"And you!" he spat at the mechanical hedgehog who was a few feet away from him. "You thought that you could destroy me?"

The words that Metal Sonic uttered in reply were not the wisest ones to say at that moment. Maybe even years from now, everyone will still wonder why he said those words. Was he too proud? Did his artificial soul not allow him to admit defeat? Or was it just because he had an ego as big as his original?

Whatever the reason was, what he said next sealed his fate.

"I never knew that Sonic the Hedgehog was such a weakling."

There was another flash. Nobody could quite tell if it was a flash from the sky, or the blur of Sonic as he raced towards his duplicate. But, in the next second, Metal Sonic was lying on the side of his face, a whole in his chest where his heart might have been. In Super Sonic's hands were sparking, sizzling wires.

He dropped them down in front of the dying machine's face, where they were swept away by the wind to join the other bits of debris. Sonic looked down at him, his eyes not portraying even a hint of pity or sorrow. "You dare call me weak?" he asked, his voice low and barely heard.

Metal Sonic's eyes flickered. His body twitched a little, as if he was trying to stand up. He gave a mechanical groan as he tried to speak.

Finally he was able to say his last words.

Last words that would haunt Amy in her darkest nightmares if she does survive this chapter of her life.

_"Sonic, you would give up your soul so easily? You would let a monster tear you apart without even a fight? You are a weakling. Nothing more than a weakling…" _

There was a final gasp from him. Then he died.

He was no more.

Sonic had killed someone without even batting an eye.

Slowly, he turned his head until it was staring at the speechless group.

His eyes locked with Amy.

Amy gasped as her eyes met with Sonic's. She moaned, clutching her head. It felt like it was going to explode any second! She saw mental images of her as pain seared through her like a wild, white-hot fire. Her blood coated the floor in a sea of red as it slowly dripped off Sonic's hand. Her ears met with the sound of Sonic's delighted laughter as he watched her collapse on the ground. She felt her heart beat slower and slower as she died. Most of all, she felt her spirit rip apart as the figure who was Sonic, yet wasn't Sonic, betray the love that she had poured out so openly to him.

"What have you done to her?" Knuckles demanded as Amy writhed on the ground and the helpless Rouge and Cream tried to calm her.

A smile creeped up onto Sonic's face. He turned to Knuckles. "I just showed her what the future has in store for her."

"Sonic, snap out of it!" pleaded Tails. "I know that the real Sonic wouldn't do this!"

In a blink of an eye, Sonic had Tails pinned by the throat to the wall. "Then…" he whispered, his breath brushing Tails face as he struggled against his vice-like grip. "You obviously didn't know the real me…"

"Get off him!" Knuckles growled madly. Swiftly, he ran towards the pair. Sonic, though, calmly let go of Tails so that he dropped weakly to the floor, and generated a shield. Knuckles couldn't stop in time as he hit the shield, and a jolt of Chaos energy ravaged through him, so that he too dropped to the ground at Sonic's feet.

"Knuckles!" cried Vector. All his friend could do was groan weakly in reply. "We have to help him, boys!"

"Do you really think that your disgrace of a detective agency can really do anything to me?" teased Sonic.

Vector seemed to swell up in anger. "Disgrace! Why you…"

"Enough," a calm, cold voice rang through the rainy air.

The golden hedgehog smirked when he met the icy stare of Shadow the Hedgehog.

"I never knew that the Ultimate Life Form _cared_ so much for people who obviously hate him."

Shadow's eyes flashed a bit. _"I _never knew that someone like you would actually be so willing to kill your friends," he retorted, trying to cover up the slight flash of emotion he had given away.

Sonic laughed out loud, opening his arms as if welcoming the rain. "Friends? _Friends?"_ he asked, with fake incredulousness. "They're nothing to me. Nothing but pawns for me to fulfill my needs."

"Pawns?" asked Shadow, his voice full of contempt. "These 'pawns' cared for you like their own family. They gave you what you wanted to take away the loneliness. You know that you don't want to lose them."

Sonic didn't miss a beat in replying. "You mean like the way you lost Maria?"

Shadow growled silently. Sonic had defiantly hit a nerve. "Yes, exactly like the way I lost Maria."

"Shadow," started Sonic. "I couldn't care less if they died. I told you, they are just my pawns. And besides," Sonic sneered. "I won't spend my life fulfilling the wishes of a dead bit-"

Sonic couldn't finish the sentence. He was slammed against the floor on some broken glass, cutting his back in the process. Shadow had his face right up to Sonic's, his teeth bared, his quills sticking up. "Don't you dare…" His chest heaved up and down, like it had took all his energy to throw Sonic back. He had completely thrown away his usually calm demeanor, as the air around him almost seemed to crackle.

Sonic completely ignored these warnings. "I won't spend my life fulfilling the wishes of a dead bitch."

Shadow seemed to lose all sense of self control. He threw a fist at Sonic's face with enough velocity to smash through a metal tank truck. But he didn't stop with just one punch. He just kept punching and punching every inch of Sonic he could reach, his mind not reacting to the call of voices behind him. _'Dead bitch…' _Those words infuriated him even further, giving him even more energy to continue.

Finally, when the floor beneath him cracked from all the force, his mind reacted. He regained some control as he slowly stepped back from his handiwork. A small part of him sincerely hoped that Sonic had died somehow, as punishment for what he had said about Maria.

"S-Shadow…"

He turned an eye to Amy, who had finally calmed down. He swallowed, now a little ashamed that Amy had to see him lose control like this.

"You should pay more attention…"

Shadow was barely able to block Sonic as he came charging at him. Both there fists were now locked together, as both tried to overpower the other. Amazingly, Sonic didn't have a scratch on him. It was like he had merely fallen asleep on the ground, not pummeled by an angry hedgehog. The air whipped up around them, the rain lashed down even harder, yet both of them seemed to be equal in strength.

"I'm impressed, Shadow." Super Sonic chuckled as he saw the sweat running down the black hedgehog's fur, mixing together with the rain. "You've managed to survive so far."

Shadow pushed harder, trying in vain to topple Sonic over. "Faker, don't make me do this…"

Sonic laughed. To him, this was all a game. They will be all dead, soon enough. This hedgehog will probably be the last challenging thing that will ever face him, and he wanted to toy with him just a little longer…

"Do what?" mocked the hedgehog. "What can you do to me in your condition? Face it. Everyone is helpless," his eyes swept through the room, emphasizing his point. "None of them could even lift a finger at me. Why not just give up now? Your death might be… just a little less painless."

Shadow could feel his muscles kicking into overdrive as Super Sonic applied even more strength in his pushing. _'He's just toying with me…'_ he realized. He knew that he couldn't last much longer like this. He didn't want to hurt Sonic, but he didn't know what to do anymore. His life had been always plagued by indecision, but this was one of the hardest choices he ever had to make.

Shadow felt the familiar sensation of his hands starting to burn red-hot. The feeling of dark energy ran through him, spreading from his body to his hands. His hands started to glow a slight purplish colour, as in his mind, he made his decision. "If I can't talk to back to your senses," he said, as Super Sonic's eyes widened in surprise, "then I'll beat you back to your senses."

He let go off Sonic, causing him to lunge forwards. Swiftly, Shadow grabbed the Sonic's arms, and then threw him as high as he could into the stormy sky. Then, he cupped his hands together, so that the purple Chaos energy welled in his palms into a beam of energy. He aimed it at Sonic. "Sorry…" he heard himself say. The energy beam exploded from his hands.

Sonic righted himself just in time to see the attack coming. Quickly, he cupped his hands as well, and a surge of gold energy rushed out of them to meet the oncoming attack.

The two attacks collided. A blast of air exploded through the base, sweeping everyone off the ground. Amy tired to grab onto anything she could, finally clutching desperately at a piece of overturned earth as she felt her body being flung back.

Gradually, she forced herself to regain her footing. The wind kept her from going any closer, and she had to squint to see what was going on. She couldn't stand it. Sonic was fighting Shadow, and from the look she saw in both of them, they were very willing to kill each other. This thought shocked her the most.

As Amy continued to watch the battle, she saw that it was just another standby. Neither seemed to be gaining the upper hand. But, even though she couldn't see the strained look in Shadow's eyes, she could see that his attack was receding, bit by bit.

"No…" she whispered.

"No…"

"No…"

"NO!"

Blindly, she forced herself to run forward. She stumbled every few steps, but one thought kept her going. _'Please, don't let this happen! Please… I don't want this! I don't want any of this!'_

"STOP!" she screamed.

"Sonic! Please don't do this!"

Shadow turned around, surprised. "Amy!" he ordered. "Stay back!"

Amy ignored him. She stood as close as she could to the pair. "Sonic!" she shouted up at him. "Sonic, please!" she cried, crystal droplets running down her face. Her voice came out as a strangled sob. "I know you're in there. I know that the real Sonic is somewhere in there! Fight it! Fight it for your friends! Fight it for me!"

Far above, Super Sonic still somehow found the energy to laugh at the desperate hedgehog. "You are still as naïve as ever, Amy. The Sonic you thought you knew is gone. He's not coming back!"

"No!" Amy yelled hoarsely, still trying to come closer. "I won't lose faith in him. I love him!"

_"I love him!"_

_Three small words…_

Sonic felt himself pulse. A massive headache soared in his head. He almost faltered in his attack. **_'What…'_**

_'Amy…'_

The steady pulsing increased in tempo. The headache grew and grew with every pulse.

**_'What are you still doing here? You should've been banished from my mind…'_**

He heard the "other" Sonic laugh half-heartedly. _'As a good friend of mine once said, "I am a part of you."'_

The headache was almost unbearable now. **_'It's… it's that girl, isn't it?'_**

He could almost feel his other half give a mental grin. _'Quite a handful, isn't she?'_

The Chaos energy-induced Sonic gave an evil laugh. **_'Then I know what I must do…'_**

He felt the cocky Sonic slowly start to panic. _'What? Don't you dare…'_

He never got the chance to finish his threat.

**_'…I must kill her…'_**

The golden light in his hands suddenly disappeared. He was quickly engulfed by Shadow's attack.

"NO!" Amy screamed, as Sonic disappeared in front of her very eyes.

She collapsed on the ground, her mind numb.

_'Sonic is gone…'_

_'Sonic… is… gone…'_

As the smoke cleared, she saw a black figure lying amongst the litter on the ground.

Scrambling to her feet, she ran towards Shadow, her ruby-red boots almost falling off her feet in her haste.

She never made it to Shadow.

Something stopped her.

And that something was standing in front of her, his eyes wide with malice.

"Hello…"

"Sonic…" Amy didn't know what to feel. A thousand images blurred in her mind, too fast for her to follow.

Sonic was alive. Alive, but he had lost his Super form. He was now covered in bruises and scratches, many of them oozing droplets of blood.

Sonic advanced on her, and Amy felt herself being reminded painfully of the first time Sonic had tried to kill her.

The sound of clinking metal behind her made her stop.

"If any of you try to stop me, I'll kill all of you," threatened Sonic without taking his eyes off her.

Amy registered the sound of Espio trying to help. "Don't," she commanded, in a voice that strangely sounded alien to her. "Please, protect the others. I'll take care of this. Trust me."

Sonic sneered. "Take care of this? You can't even take care of yourself! All the times I had to save you from Eggman… you're like a little kid who needs a babysitter to watch her every move!"

_'Eggman… where is Eggman?'_ She found herself wondering this. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her thoughts, but at the same time, trying to defy this "new" Sonic.

Sonic narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he stooped down, so that his face was right up against hers. "Did you say that you love me?"

Amy tried to back away even more from him, but she was forcefully held to her spot by Sonic, who had grabbed her by the shoulders.

"I'll ask you one last time…" said Sonic. "Did you say that you love me?"

Lightening flashed behind him, giving his eyes an even darker look.

Amy already teary eyes started to well up with even more tears. _'Sonic, I love you!'_ she wanted to scream. But she couldn't say them. Instead, she felt herself stammering in fear.

Sonic didn't wait any longer. He was ready to kill her. His hand was reared back, ready to strike the final blow. "Useless," he hissed, aiming for her heart.

The screams behind them echoed loudly.

Amy squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that no one could help her this time.

'_NO!'_

Sonic stopped, the tip of his finger just brushing Amy's fur.

_'Stop! Stop! Stop!'_

Sonic fell to his knees on the ground, relinquishing his hold on Amy.

_'Amy! AMY!'_

Sonic panted, his face facing Amy's knees, eyes unseeing.

Amy opened her eyes, meeting this strange sight. "Sonic…?"

"Run…"

Amy gasped, hearing the old tone of Sonic. _Her_ Sonic.

"Is that you?"

"Run Amy… get away from me… get everyone away from me…"

He was fighting hard for control. He hurt everywhere. It was like trying to tear away his arm, no, even worse, but he knew that he needed to get them away.

"Get away…" he pleaded once again.

Amy shook her head fiercely. "I'm not leaving you!"

Sonic couldn't reply. He just moaned in pain and despair.

Amy shook her head again. "I'm staying right here with you," she whispered. Then, without warning, she threw herself at Sonic.

Sonic felt the pain increase tenfold as Amy's arms encircled him. _'Amy… why didn't you leave?'_

Amy buried herself into Sonic's chest fur as the rain pounded against her. She could feel Sonic struggling, she could swear that she could almost feel his pain. _'How do I stop this?'_ She almost cried to herself.

"Sonic," she heard herself say, not even sure Sonic could hear her. "I know that you're in there…"

"I just want you to know…"

"That I love you…"

Amy tightened her grip even more, as if trying to somehow call Sonic to her. But she knew that right now, words weren't enough.

So she leaned forward…

And placed her velvet-soft lips on his.

She closed her eyes, tears leaking out.

_'Sonic… come back to me…'_

_'Stay with me…'_

_'…because I love you…'_

_'I LOVE YOU!'

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**_A/N: _**So? What do you think? It'll take me a while to put up next chapter. Don't know how long, but I'll try to put one up ASAP. Don't worry, I'll try not to wait 'till like a month to put one up. (Note that I said "try")

**Answers to Anonymous Reviews:**

**hedge8701: **Yeah, you're right. I still go complaints though... meh. ARIGATO!

**Jeanette Harrell**: LOL If they made this into a movie... well, let's just say that Sonic the Hedgehog will no longer be rated "E." (Though Shadow theHedgehog was rated "T..." hmm...) THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING!

**Panic Attack**: (In mental cell next door) Hey... are you one of my reviewers? I just wanna say thanks!

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azngirlchibi 


	12. Chapter 12 A World Away

**_A/N: _**I know! I'm so sorry I took forever. Feel free to berate me with random comments. But I really do have alot of projects to work on. I'm sorry... and there's no update for this month (ducks frying pan). Sorry. I have grad coming up, with a three day trip to Ottawa... and we have to hand in lots of stuffs for report cards...

I'll write as much as I can during Sundays, though! (ducks random flower pot)**

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**Disclaimer: **_If I owned Sonic and co., people will probably hurt me for what I'm about to write...

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**Character Ages**

_Sonic: 23_

_Amy: 20_

_Tails: 16_

_Cream: 14_

_Eggman: Unknown_

_Metal Sonic: Unknown_

_Knuckles: 24_

_Rouge: 26_

_Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be..._

_Vector: 28_

_Espio: 24_

_Charmy: 14

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Sonic didn't know where he was. He was just wandering… wandering around… wandering around the dark… seeing yet unseeing…

_'Help me, Sonic!'_

Sonic felt himself twitch at the sound of the voice. Who was that? It was so familiar… so vaguely familiar…

_'Sonic! Please, come back! Help me!'_

_'Come back?' _he though curiously. _'Come back where? I don't know where to go…'_

Then, he saw her. The pink-quilled girl who had captured her heart.

_'Help me!' _she was shouting. _'Sonic!'_

Sonic tried to run to her, but something held him back. He looked down at his legs, but nothing was stopping him. Nothing held him back.

Then why couldn't he run?

_'Sonic!' _Amy was holding out her hands, reaching for him. Suddenly, a hole opened up under her, swallowing her.

_'SONIC!' _she screamed.

_'AMY!' _he shouted back. He forced his legs to run, commanding them to. But they wouldn't listen. Amy's screams grew further and further away…

_'HOLD ON, AMY!' _Why wasn't he running? _'AMY, I'M COMING!' _

Suddenly, he could run. He ran like he never had before, multiple sonic booms echoing behind him. Without thinking, he jumped into the black abyss, his hands outstretched as he reached for Amy.

Sonic grabbed her hand, pulling her to his chest. He hugged her tightly as they stopped falling.

_'Amy… are you alright?' _he asked.

Amy looked up at him, her eyes lustrous with unshed tears. _'Please… come back…'_

Sonic was confused. _'Amy… I'm right here. I'm right here by your side…'_

He saw her shake her head frantically. _'Come back…'_ Her voice was getting softer… weaker…

_'A-Amy?' _He stuttered. He saw her quills turning transparent. Her eyes were starting to fade away as the tears fell.

_'I love you… please come back…'_

Sonic clutched onto her small body, pulling her tighter to him. _'No! Don't leave! Stay here with me!'_

He saw her smile a small smile, and reached up her hands to touch his face. Without knowing, tears were starting to fall from his eyes as well.

_'Come back…' _she said yet again, her voice barely heard now. Every second, her body was starting to grow dimmer and dimmer.

He leaned closer to her face, his tears running freely. _'Amy, I'm right here. I won't leave you…'_

_'Don't you know that I love you?'_

Amy was almost gone now, her strawberry scent the only thing that wasn't disappearing. Suddenly, he closed the space between her lips, and kissed her.

He closed his eyes, as the electricity ran through his body. This was better than running, more exhilarating than all the dangerous tasks that he had ever done. Everything felt sharper, clearer. It felt like the world itself had opened up a tiny secret to him, a secret that he had waited his whole life for. He pressed his lips even harder against Amy's, willing her to stay. Her lips pressed back, and he could feel her hugging him tightly. He ran his hands through her soft quills, rubbing them soothingly, as if trying to reassure her of something.

Then, he pulled back, expecting Amy to have stayed. But she was gone. Her scent stayed on him, but she was gone.

The only other thing left of her was a whisper in the dark.

_'Come back…'_

Sonic found himself hugging himself, trying to deny the fact that Amy wasn't coming back.

_'Amy… you're gone…' _

He felt lost, for the first time in his life, the wonderful feeling gone, so quickly that he could never chase it, no matter how fast he was.

He didn't know where to go next.

He didn't know where to run.

But he did know one thing.

This time, he was the one who was going to have come to her.

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Amy pressed her lips harder against him. He was still shaking in her arms… shaking so hard. She never thought that her first kiss would be like this. Sonic wasn't acting the way that she dreamed. He didn't sweep her off her feet as he carried her off into the glowing sunset. Instead, they were standing in a decimated hideout, with the rain falling like a thousand stinging needles. The radiant colours of the sunset was the flashing lightening, as the thunder accompanied it's soundless tune. Her friends were sprawled around her, trying to gather themselves together, not clapping or cheering like the scene in her imaginations. And she wasn't hanging tightly onto his neck as he rushed them off at the speed of sound. She was holding awkwardly onto his arms, as he shook and struggled in front of her with his inner self. 

Those childish dreams seemed like a lifetime ago.

She had never felt her passion and love pounding as hard as it did now, at this moment. Sonic needed her, even if he never needed her before.

_'I need him to come back. I want him to come back.'_

All of the sudden, as if he heard her, Sonic stopped struggling. He relaxed in her arms.

_'Amy… I'm right here. I'm right here by your side…'_

Amy almost gasped out loud, for those thoughts weren't her own. They sounded strangely like…

_'…Sonic…?'_

That's when she felt it. Another pair of lips, pressing back on her own. Her heart thudded in her chest. Sonic was reacting! Not only that, but he was kissing her back!

He hugged her back tightly. She felt his hands rubbing her back, her quills almost bending towards his hands as they work their way through her fur. She felt Sonic flood her thoughts and senses, not noticing anything else around her. The breath that she breathed was the breath that Sonic breathed. This seemed almost unreal, like those dreams that she always had when she was little. He even tasted the way she thought he would – the world that he always protected, the wilderness that he loved.

They broke apart.

"Sonic… are you… back?" she asked, between her panting.

For a second, she saw that pair of rich, green eyes, filled with love as they stared back at her.

The next, her right cheek was stinging unmercifully as she was thrown back to where her friends were crowded together in a protective circle.

Someone caught her, but what did she care? Slamming into a steel wall would've felt all the same to her. She couldn't have cared less. Her cheek burned as a river of fire ran down it, like Sonic had branded something there with a red-hot iron. Something that screamed at her to return to reality.

That Sonic didn't love her. That those eyes… those beautiful, shining eyes… they were fake. It was all fake. He had broken down her resolve like he always had, but he didn't leave enough pieces for her to build it up again. Not like the way he always left just enough for her to rebuild it like before. Nothing could bring it back. Not even that small, whispering voice of hope in the back of her mind. Even that had abandoned her, left her in the dark when she needed it most. It was like the voice had been extinguished as easily as a candle when it decided to risk it's life dancing with the wind.

Someone shook her, pleaded with her to snap out of it. But she felt like she was dead. Was this what death was like? No, this was worse. Was this heartbreak? Maybe it was. Or maybe she just dropped into another world, into another body, and soon she would wake up back in her small, cozy apartment in her nice warm bed. Maybe she will wake up like she always did when she had nightmares – sweating, her blanket covered in tears. Maybe. But her cheek… her damn burning cheek… was telling her otherwise.

Knuckles placed a hand on Cream's shoulder as she shook Amy's arm for god knows how many times. Cream's face was covered with tears as she looked up at Knuckles, her sweet, innocent face asking for comfort. Begging for it.

But Knuckles could give none. No words of comfort sprang forth to his lips, nothing to extinguish his own despair.

As gently as possible, he pried Cream loose from Amy. Immediately, the horrified rabbit buried herself in Tails, quivering uncontrollably as Tails stroked her head softly, his own tongue empty of words. Knuckles turned Amy to him, almost dropping her when he saw the blank, empty look that she gave back to him.

_'She's dying,' _he thought to himself. _'Maybe not physically… but she might as well be.'_

He closed his eyes, clenching his fists. He could feel the despair slowly being pushed away, felt it turning into anger. Anger that constricted his chest, hatred that burned his throat. For one horrifying, delicious second, he wanted to feel his fingers around Sonic's throat, wanted to squeeze the air and life out of him.

For one second, he never wanted to see that smirk on his friend's face again.

He swallowed hard, trying to force that feeling away. _'It's not his fault… not his fault… it's just him being influenced by the Master and Chaos Emeralds… it's not his fault…' _But didn't Metal Sonic say something about the victim must already have a dark side to him? No, he didn't want to think about that, or Metal Sonic. Not the one who was stone cold and dead on the ground with a hole in his chest.

"And guess who's going to be dead next, Knuckles?" asked a quiet, menacing voice that drifted towards him. "You."

Knuckles started, then looked up at the cobalt hedgehog. His head was down, and he was looking at the ground, at the slight trail of blood that belonged to Amy. He squatted down and ran his fingers along the trail, as if trying to remember the map that it made. "You know…" he said, still trailing the blood lightly with his fingers which seemed to dance along the river of red, "… that girl… what makes her so special?" he asked, as if curious about something at school. "Why does she pull my other side so strongly? A simple touch, a simple kiss," he looked up at the sky this time, the rain falling onto his face. "They could be washed away so easily, the touches, the hugs." Now he was facing them. Were they imagining it, or did they just see a soft gleam in the killer's eyes?

"You love her," they all echoed back simply. Nothing seemed simpler than that question.

Lightening seared across the sky blindingly, mixing with the flash of Sonic as he disappeared as easily as blinking.

"Wrong answer."

Something fast and hard struck Knuckles to the side, sending him flying against the wall. He struck it with a sickening crash, causing him to let out an involuntary cry of pain. Something warm and wet was pooling from the top of his head, and he didn't need to see it to know that it was blood. Blearily, he looked up from where he was, trying to decipher the blur of shapes in front of him.

Echoing footsteps were walking towards him. As his eyes cleared, he saw Sonic, walking towards him slowly like he had all the time in the world. The quills on his back were no longer the azure blue of the sky, but were now also raining blood. Surprisingly, he did not go after the others who were crowded in a group, minus Shadow.

Shaking, he got up, using the wall as support. His head throbbed with pain, and he almost passed out as a headache coursed through him. He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists so tightly together that he felt blood.

Sonic stopped in front of him, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Do you really think that he clings to her like a burr because he loves her?" he asked, voice full of scorn.

Knuckles couldn't answer. Sonic's voice felt like it was coming from inside him, increasing his headache even more. He wanted to cover his ears, but that would be showing weakness.

"Can't you tell?" Sonic's voice sounded like it was calling them all 'stupid.' "He's _desperate._"

The red echidna forced his body to slowly turn and face him. His friend and rival. His complete opposite.

"Desperate." Sonic hissed that word like poison rolling off his tongue. "He doesn't love her. He clings to her… only because he wants to save himself."

Knuckles closed his eyes for a second, the feeling of wanting to wring Sonic's neck returning again.

"I know what he thinks about you all. Every single one of you-"

"Shut up."

Sonic didn't seem surprised. On the contrary, he seemed please to get such a reaction from Knuckles.

"What's the matter, Knuckles?" he mocked, enjoying himself. "Don't you want to know how I _really _think about you?"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!"

Despite the pounding headache, despite the blood running down his face, he rushed at Sonic. So fast, in fact, that he managed to catch Sonic off-guard and nail him with a pointed fist across the face.

Sonic sailed through the air, but managed to land back on his feet again. As soon as he touched the ground, he flew towards Knuckles at an impossible speed.

Knuckles managed to block Sonic with his arms. He skidded along the ground, black marks appearing to mark his path. Quickly, he turned around as Sonic appeared behind him. He threw a punch, but only to have Sonic duck to dodge it. Sonic stood back up again, the punched at the side of Knuckles's head.

Knuckles landed heavily on the ground. More fresh blood ran down the other side of his head, making the pounding ten times worse. He tried to get up, only to fall down on his side again. _'No…' _he thought weakly. _'I must… get… up… to protect the others…'_

He weakly turned his head to the sound of approaching footsteps. His eyes caught a blur of blue walking towards him. _'Is this what Death looks like?'_

It stopped in front of him. _"Knuckles is such a gullible idiot sometimes,"_ Sonic said out loud, as if he was reading from a book. _"Seriously, he's the guardian of the Master Emerald, but who does he call up when it's missing? Me, of course. Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that **I **was the guardian of the Master Emerald."_

Anger flared through Knuckles again, fueling him. He got up again, trying to kick Sonic and trip him. Sonic didn't even bother to move. He just lifted his foot, then made it come crashing down on Knuckles's leg. Knuckles bit back a scream as he heard the bones in his leg crack.

Sonic kicked his leg to the side with a look of contempt. He continued walking up to Knuckles, his eyes shining as they looked at his helpless form. _"Why does he bother living up there all alone on that floating island anyway?"_ he continued, walking ever closer to Knuckles. _"It's not doing the Master Emerald much good. Even Eggman can fly right up to it and just pick it right off. How many times has he done that now? I'm probably gonna loose track soon."_

Knuckles closed his eyes to the world. He tried to concentrate on his anger. Nothing but his anger. He needed it to help him. Help him to get up and protect the others! But it didn't work. There was that tiny seedling of fear that was planted inside his anger. He could feel it starting to grow and trail it's icy cold fingers down his back. That fear also told him something. As much as he hated it, he couldn't kill Sonic. He just couldn't. It just wasn't the same as smashing robots, or overpowering someone into submission. Now that he thought about it, he'd _never_ killed someone with his own two hands before…

_'But Sonic is now,'_ said a bitter, cold voice inside of him. _'Are you saying that you're weaker than him?'_

Knuckles couldn't move. He was going to die. He'd failed. Failed the Master Emerald, failed his friends…

… even failed Rouge…

_'Maybe… maybe I am weaker than Sonic…'_

"Good-bye, Knuckles," said Sonic.

Knuckles tried to make his heart feel as cold and as unfeeling as ice. He didn't want to feel the anger, despair, and betrayal that threatened to haunt him even in death.

Even through his closed eyelids, he thought that he could see Sonic's grinning face as he started to strike…

_"NO!"_

Knuckles quickly opened his eyes in surprise, but he wished that he never had.

_"ROUGE!"_

Lightening illuminated the silhouette of Rouge who had thrown herself in front of him. Her pure white fur was starting to stain with red.

She coughed up blood. Sweet smelling blood that sickened Knuckles to his stomach.

"Stupid, stupid Rouge!" he cried out. The tears that were starting to form in his eyes betrayed the words that he spoke. Angrily, he wiped them away before looking at Rouge again.

"Is that… any way… to thank me?" she asked weakly, trying to laugh. Instead, she just coughed again, more blood landing on the ground.

"Rouge…" he choked back a sob. This wasn't the time for him to be weak! "Rouge… why did you…?" he couldn't finish the sentence. He gently stroke her face, no longer the beautiful white that reminded him of the moon.

"Don't be stupid…" Rouge said weakly, her voice almost drowned out by another fit of coughing. "Let's just say, if I had to give my most precious jewel a name, I would name it Knuckles…"

She smiled a bit. Then, she put her head down on his chest, and closed her eyes, the colour of the green of the seas.

"Rouge? Rouge!" he shook her as gently as he could, calling out her name desperately, as if Rouge might not hear Death whisper her name if he did. "Rouge! ROUGE!"

There were sobs behind him, but he ignored them. _'Rouge isn't gone,' _he thought to himself, his mind racing. _'She's just pretending… she's trying to distract Sonic… she is, I just know she is!'_

He couldn't bear to look at her face, so peaceful and quiet. _'Wake up!' _he wanted to scream at her. _'Wake up! Call me stupid. Steal the Master Emerald.' _Finally, he looked away from her face, only to see the grin of her killer's.

His stomach lurched when he saw the blood that covered his hands. Blood that was once Rouge's. It was everywhere on him. Splattered on his face, dripping down his hands. _'Everywhere…'_

His voice was barely heard over the sound or the falling rain. _"Rouge… god, she's a total slut. Skimpy outfit, flirting with every guy she sees… she even flirted with me! It was disgusting."_

Knuckles growled, hugging Rouge protectively against his body, as if trying to protect her from Sonic's harsh words. As if she could still hear them.

_"It's like she thinks she can get anything she wants by being a total whore. Guys, gems, the government's favour… all in all, your typical bitch."_

Knuckles could feel himself losing consciousness. His anger could only lead him so far. Maybe it was his turn to finally die now… maybe Rouge was calling him, whispering _his _name so that he could follow her as Death guided them to their final resting place.

Together.

Sonic smiled as he saw Knuckles's head thump down onto the ground with Rouge on top of him.

"Sonic! H-how could you?"

The voice made him turn to Tails, his fists clenched together in anger, his eyes showing fear as he gently shoved Cream behind him.

"Don't worry…" Sonic said. "You're next."

* * *

**_A/N: _**Is Rouge really dead? Well, you probably know the answer. What about Knuckles? Do I really have a secret hate of them? Would I really kill two characters out of the main Sonic cast for the sake of a fic? WOULD I? Think about it (smiles evilly)

* * *

**Answers to Anonymous Reviews:**

**DeniedLuv: **Ummm... I don't know if I should be happy you cried, or regretful. Thanks for reading, anyway!

**Donna: **Thanks for reviewing!

**that confedential damit: **LOL love your name. Thanks for reviewing!

azngirlchibi


	13. Chapter 13 What I Want

**_A/N: _**Hello, hello! I'm back! YAY! Anyways, yeah, I finally put up the next chapter... though I do admit it was a bit rushed (hey, I wrote it right after I came back from Ottawa! It was a friggen 5 hour trip by bus!)

Metal Sonic: Excuses, excuses...

Azngirlchibi: Geez... what crawled up your(beep) and died? Hey... wait a minute... aren't you dead?

Metal Sonic: (sniffs) But that's just it... nobody mourned for my death when I died! But look at all the reviews people sent, crying about Rouge and Knuckles... besides, everybody know that you don't have the guts to...

Azngirlchibi: NO SPOILERS!

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_I would also like to take this chance to say happy b-day to a friend of mine... though of course, she's never going to read this... but HAPPY B-DAY ANWAYS!_

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**Disclaimer: **(sigh) Sometimes I swear that SEGA makes us write this to make us feel bad... but yeah, I don't own...

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**Character Ages**

_Sonic: 23_

_Amy: 20_

_Tails: 16_

_Cream: 14_

_Eggman: Unknown_

_Metal Sonic: Unknown_

_Knuckles: 24_

_Rouge: 26_

_Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be..._

_Vector: 28_

_Espio: 24_

_Charmy: 14_

* * *

Tails stiffened. His back rigid, he tried to be brave as he faced his best friend, who slowly advanced towards him. Only his eyes betrayed his fear. 

He tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke to Sonic. "Why…?" he whispered. "Why, Sonic?"

Sonic's eyes flashed. Tails wished he could read them, but he had never fully understood Sonic before, so why now? But that was what he had liked about him. That's why he let himself enter Sonic's life.

And that was also why he felt like his life was crumbling around him.

"Why, Sonic?" he asked again, this time with unrestrained tears falling down his face. Tears that were lost in the rain.

_'Why…'_

_'Why…'_

"WHY?"

He tore himself out of Cream's grip. He ran towards Sonic, his voice like a knife cutting through the air, his cerulean eyes wild.

He had taken only a few steps forward when someone jerked his arm back, holding him tight.

"Let me go!" he screamed. He used all his energy to struggle, to kick, to bite, anything! He wanted whoever it was to let go. He wanted to beat the crap out of this person for daring to restrain him. He wanted to show the world that he didn't need Sonic, he didn't need _anyone! _He had a name – Miles "Tails" Prower… wasn't that enough to show that he was his own person? He was so tired of being known as "Sonic's sidekick." He had thought that Sonic was his best friend, someone he could look up to… even a shoulder to cry on. But he didn't want this… he didn't want to know someone like… like this!

He wanted… he wanted…

_'What do I really want?'_

It was like that question turned him off like a switch. Limply, he fell out of the person's arms.

Then, he stayed there on his hands and knees, and cried a heart-shattering sob. Never mind the way the hard bits of earth and rock dug into his skin… he just wanted… wanted to cry.

Espio stood silently behind Tails. He could still feel the way that Tails had struggled against his hold, like a burning mark against his scales. He had shouted things to Sonic… many things that still scalded his ears. The chameleon closed his eyes, blocking the sickening sight of all the blood before him.

_"How weak."_

The sound of Sonic's voice reached the amethyst fighter's ears.

_"Great, another person who's gonna need saving from me. Sheesh, talk about my hands being full. And worst of all, this weirdo kid follows me everywhere… oh joy. How is he weird, you may ask? He has two tails sticking out of him! If I need some idiot to shadow me, I'll ask for one!"_

"Stop it!" cried a voice. It was Cream. Her buff-coloured ears shook back and forth as she held her head. "Just stop it, Sonic!"

Sonic smiled an empty smile. "Oh? And what are you going to do if I don't? I mean, _you're a total weakling without your little chao to help you…"_

The air stilled as he continued talking, almost like the earth itself was listening. "That's the problem with you all…" He made a noise that sounded like something between a hiss and a laugh. "You depend on each other too much. That was the weakness that Dr. Robotnik never could figure out…" His green eyes flashed again, but this time, everyone could see the malice behind them. "It's quite simple… all of you are like an intricately interwoven piece of fabric. But, if you just find the right piece of thread and cut it…" Here, he clenched an open fist, "… then, your pitiful existence falls apart…"

"… and guess who was the thread that held us all together?"

No one needed to answer. No one _wanted _to answer.

Sonic paused for a moment to let his words take effect. Then, he jeered. "Look at you all… you're already falling apart… and the fun part hasn't even begun yet…" He sighed mockingly. "And you were the people that I called my '_friends_?' 'Weaklings' is more like it!"

"Weakling?" asked Espio. "Who's the _real _weakling around here?"

The Blue Wonder narrowed his eyes. "Do you dare contradict my power? Have you already forgotten about what happened to that trash copy of me?"

Espio looked back coolly at him. "We are not 'weaklings,' as you so put it. Have _you _already forgotten the power that we held when we fought together?"

"Ha!" Sonic laughed. "You seemed to have forgotten that our little attack was stopped by one lone robot. One lone robot who held great power… power that was even weaker then mine! Or… do you need a little reminder?"

Sonic seemed to disappear into thin air. Quickly, Espio reached for his weapons at the side of his wrists…

"Too slow."

Espio turned to his left, just in time for his eyes to be hit by Sonic's foot as he delivered a roundhouse kick. Espio flew to the side, knocking into Tails and landing on him as they both hit the remains of a computer.

Quickly, Espio held up his hands to catch Sonic by his knees as he rocketed towards them. Pushing with all his might, he managed to fling him back several feet away from him. Easily, Sonic landed on his hands, then pushed himself back to his feet.

"Vector! Charmy!" he shouted over to his team, not once taking his eyes off Sonic. "Take Tails, and guard him and the girls!"

"Are you kidding me?" exploded an outraged crocodile. "You can't take on this guy alone! You'll get yourself killed!"

At his, Charmy started bawling. "But Espio can't die!" he screamed in his high-pitched little voice.

Espio resisted the urge to knock Charmy upside the head, even in this dangerous situation. "Look, I know that! But we have to have someone to look after these three!"

Vector growled. "No! We're a team, aren't we? Besides, what makes you think you can take him on by yourself?"

"…" Espio didn't answer. He didn't have anything to answer with. "I…" Espio hesitated a little. "Listen, I don't know how I'm going to beat him by myself. But look at Knuckles! Look at that bat! If we don't do something soon, we're all going to end up like them! So… so… just do as I say, ok?" Without even a glance in their direction, Espio heaved the broken looking fox into his arms, and quickly tossed him as gently as he could towards the Chaotix Agents.

He heard a _thump_ as Tails landed into someone's arms. Finally satisfied, he turned all his senses onto Sonic.

The air crackled, as if anticipating their fight. Sonic licked his lips. _'I'm going to enjoy this…'_

The ninja made the first move. With lightning speed too fast for the eye to follow, he withdrew two shurikens from his arm bands and threw them in an "X" shape towards Sonic. With silent deadliness, they sliced through the air.

Smirking arrogantly, Sonic jumped and kicked the two weapons out of the way. He aimed his foot at the attacker with deadly accuracy towards his head. There was enough force to crack open his skull.

With breakneck reflexes, Espio grabbed Sonic's foot. Using the momentum of Sonic's kick, he swung him around and around at dizzying speeds. Finally he let go, and with a yell, Sonic crashed into a computer keyboard before falling forwards again. Without pausing for breath, Espio reached for multiple shurikens, throwing them forwards towards the hedgehog's form. The sound of metal hitting metal could be heard loudly _thwacking_ as they hit their target.

"Heh… I gotta give you some credit, I guess…"

Someone gasped loudly from somewhere beside Espio. "Impossible!" cried a voice, but it was not his own. "Espio never misses!" squeaked Charmy.

"Oh, no, he didn't miss…" a faint outline of quills was starting to show. "What's the matter, Espio? Too scared to kill me?"

The debris and dust cleared. Sonic stood, the shurikens embedded into his flesh. There had to be at least ten in all, and all of them seemed stuck into his body, some almost going through. The blood ran down from his wounds, but it looked like Sonic barely felt them. His fur was starting to look matted down, and the tiniest rivulet of blood was spilling from his mouth.

But none of the weapons had hit any vital spots.

Smirking again, Sonic stared at the razor sharpness of one of the stars stuck in his arm. "If you're going to save your friends, you have to start getting serious…" Sonic looked up again at Espio's unreadable eyes. "Stop playing… _around!_"

With unmatched force combined with his speed, Sonic flung his arms and legs where the weapons were embedded. They flew out, flying with amazing speed back towards Espio.

Espio's eyes widened. He barely had time to reach for a single kunai knife from his holsters. He drew it out and used it to knock all the shurikens out of the way just as they were about to reach him.

"Behind you, Espio!" someone shouted. But Espio didn't have enough time to react. Sonic suddenly had his arms twisted painfully behind him.

"I'm impressed, Espio," said Sonic, looking amused. "I might need to borrow some of your weapons after I finish everyone off…"

"You…" Espio choked back a wince of pain as Sonic pulled his arms back even more. "You're not going to be finishing… _anyone!"_ Espio took another knife out of his left wrist band with his right hand. He slashed at the air behind him.

Sonic staggered back in surprise, holding the large cut that was now across his chest. Blood was slowly oozing out, dyeing his chest fur a deep red. Espio took this chance to leap back a few steps away from him.

Sonic looked down at his fur in surprise, like he had never saw his own blood before. He looked back up at Espio's face, the surprised look still there. "Oh, you're pretty good… not bad at all…" He ran his finger across the wound, flicking off the blood after. "But now… it's my turn."

He seemed to vanish on the spot again, but even Espio's fine senses couldn't warn him in time as Sonic rolled into him from behind with a homing attack. Uncurling from his ball, Sonic reached out for Espio's legs. Grabbing them he swung him hard to the side. Espio could feel the air singing around him, but before he even made contact with anything, Sonic grabbed him again painfully by the arms and threw him skywards. He landed on the wall by his feet, the rocketed up, curling himself as he went. He got above Espio, then used another homing attack to hit him downwards while rolling against his body so fast that a blue whirlwind twirled behind him. As soon as Espio crashed into the ground, Sonic bounced off him and landed on another wall, staying onto it with apparent ease.

"No! Espio!" shouted Vector. "That's it! We have to help him, now!"

Charmy looked timidly at him. "But… but Espio said…"

Vector glared at the helpless bee. "Who's the leader of this team here! Me! Now do as I say!"

"But what about Cream and Tails and Amy?" shouted back Charmy. "We can't just leave them here! Espio said to protect them!"

"Sonic is too busy with Espio to pay any attention to them!" argued Vector. "Which is why we should…"

"Umm… excuse me?" interrupted a small voice.

Charmey and Vector turned around to face Cream.

"What is it?" Vector asked, slightly annoyed.

"I'll… I'll watch these two for you…" she suggested, trying to look brave.

Vector frowned. "Look, this is no time to joke around…"

Now it was Cream's turn to be annoyed. "I'm not joking! I'm very serious… Don't interrupt me," she said as Vector opened his mouth. "I… I was with Tails for a long time now… he used to tell me how he dreamed to be independent one day. That one day, he won't be overshadowed by Sonic, how he wanted so badly to be just known as 'Tails.' And… and I understand how he felt…" Cream swallowed back the tears that tried to force itself to the surface as she thought of the wonderful times that they shared before all this. "I also share the same dream... but… I don't think we should go into that…" Now the rabbit was looking up at them with pleading eyes. "Please… I know I can do it… I can play my part and help them! Now you need to do your part, and help Espio! Please… I'll be alright…"

"But…" Charmey started, worry in his voice.

Vector put a hand on Charmey, almost with uncharacteristic gentleness. He gave Cream a nod.

Cream nodded back eagerly. "Thank you," she said.

* * *

Sonic slowly stalked up to his opponent. "Nice try…" he said, confident that he had won. Except when he looked into the crater that Espio had landed in… 

_'Where is he?'_ Sonic looked around him, turning back and forth, his eyes scanning the area. _'He should be…'_

"…Right here!" cried a voice behind him. "Leaf Swirl!"

A painful kick slammed across his face. Sonic staggered again, looking around for his foe.

"Hiding now, are we?" asked the cobalt hedgehog, senses alert for any sign of the ninja. Slowly, he closed his eyes, relying on nothing but his hearing. Suddenly, the sound of rain falling onto scales reaching his ears. He opened his eyes. Yes, there it was. He squinted. It was the faint outline of rain falling around a body. "I guess I'm 'it' then, right?" He rushed forwards to the figure, slamming into it with his full body weight before pushing himself off him again.

Espio let out a shout of surprise. Once again, his back hit a wall, but there was no one to cushion his fall this time. _'This is bad…' _he thought to himself, a bit panicky now, the need to survive starting to take over his instincts. His back was badly bruised from the beating that it took, and his spine barely supported him. His front was a complete mess of dark bruises, with a particularly large painful bruise that was starting to show on his stomach. _'This is really, really bad…'_ he thought to himself again. He swallowed the blood that was starting to force itself up his throat. Was he bleeding from the inside? He hadn't done as much damage as he would have thought he would on Sonic. Though Espio didn't look quite as bad as Sonic on the outside, Espio could feel the waves of dizziness and nausea assaulting him. Sonic, on the other hand, looked fine, like he couldn't feel the wounds. Had his attacks really done so little?

"I guess this is it, then." Sonic looked over at his foe without the slightest feeling of pity. "For you…" With one more smirk, he curled himself, then blasted towards Espio. With no where to run, Espio hurriedly grabbed his kunai knives and shurikens, throwing them towards Sonic, but to no avail. They all bounced off of him like they were nothing. Sonic was going too fast!

Espio held up his hands and closed his eyes by instinct…

"Gotcha!"

"Hmm?" Espio opened his eyes, staring right at Vector's tail. "Vector!" The crocodile had caught Sonic in his huge mouth. With all his might, he threw Sonic to the opposing mechanical contraptions. Sonic hit them all with a _crash!_ and for a moment, he laid there, stunned.

"Don't forget me!" said a little voice.

"Charmey! I told you guys to stay with the others!"

"Eh, we figured you could use some help!" replied Vector. "That's what friends are for, right?" He nodded towards the surprised Espio.

Charmey buzzed above their heads almost happily. "You gotta start taking your own advice, Espio!"

_'Have you already forgotten the power that we held when we fought together?'_

Espio gaped for a moment in surprise, then the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "Thanks… but what about…?"

"We left them with Cream. Look," interrupted Vector before Espio could say anything, "Just trust us with this one, ok?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt this heartfelt reunion…"

"Watch it!" Vector grabbed the weakened chameleon and leaped out of the way, with Charmey buzzing his wings furiously after him. There was an explosion behind them as a flash of blue energy collided with the already broken machines.

Sharp spines collided with Vector's back. The green crocodile gave a yell as he landed on Espio. Espio cried out in pain at Vector's weight, barely able to sustain his own in his weakened state.

"Sorry, Espio!" Vector said apologetically scrambling to get up. Before he could, Espio pointed over his shoulder.

"Look out!"

Sonic was once again charging towards them, his legs a blur under him. Just as he reached them, both Vector and Espio felt a tug at their collars, lifting both of them off the ground.

"Going up!" It was Charmey who had lifted them off the ground. With surprising speed and strength, he lifted them up high to avoid Sonic who stopped just in time to avoid a collision with the wall. Not ready to give up, Sonic jumped up after them.

"Thunder shoot!" With all his might, Charmey threw Vector towards their pursuer. Vector twisted into a sphere, his tail flying out behind him, the air whining through his leather tough scales.

Sonic saw him coming, but he didn't even blink. Unfazed, he held out his hands, and caught Vector by his tail, much like the way Espio had earlier caught his foot. He continued flying up at a high speed, swinging Vector like a mace. Then, he let go, and Vector crashed into Charmey, who accidently let go of Espio. All three of them started falling to a certain death towards the ground.

_'Only… one chance…' _Espio thought desperately as they continued their free-fall. He didn't know if he had enough energy to do it, and if he would survive doing it if he did, but he knew that he had to try. _'L… Leaf Swirl!'_

The ground rushed towards them, faster and faster. Then, a swirling mass of wind rose up beneath them, softening their fall slightly. The sound of their crash echoed loudly, and the three appeared, piled together in a heap. None of them stirred.

Cream could only stare, not daring to leave her spot. _'Team Chaotix too, now?'_ She looked over at Tails, who had taken on a vacant look much like Amy's. _'Help me, Tails! I can't do this alone! I'm… I'm scared…'_

"Huh, so you're the only one left, eh?"

Cream froze, rooted to her spot. Her breathing came out, harsh and ragged, like she had already fought with Sonic. _'No… please, no…'_

"Ha! Look at you!" Sonic was walking out from the cover of dust, approaching painfully slowly. "I haven't even done anything to you, and you're already shaking? Coward."

The frightened rabbit couldn't do anything. Her mind screamed for her to move, but she couldn't… she just couldn't! What she wouldn't give to have Cheese or Chocola here with her…

"You're no fun." Sonic's mouth curled down into a frown. "How about a deal, then, princess? You move out of my way. Even take that pathetic fox with you for all I care… I just want the girl."

Cream's eyes widened, shocked. _'How… how can he make me do something like that?'_ But the offer was so tempting… so tantalizingly tempting to the frightened young girl… _'No, I can't think like that! I won't think like that!'_

_'But what else can I do?'_

Almost hesitantly, she reached her hand out for Tails. Inching it closer and closer. Her mind screamed ever louder, grating in her ears. _'I can't… I can't… I can't…'_

Hot shame burned her throat. _'But… but…'_

Suddenly, Tails melted before her eyes. She blinked, looking down onto herself. She felt… strangely shorter…?

* * *

_"Chao, chao!"_

A bright, merry voice laughed behind her. She turned, facing the girl who was almost like a big sister to her.

_"Ms. Amy," _she heard herself say. _"What do you want to do today?"_

The figure of Amy seemed to come in and out of focus. She looked more like a walking beam of pink light then an actual hedgehog. _"Oh, I don't know, Cream. Do you want to go to the beach today?"_

Cream felt herself stare back for a moment, a fuzzy feeling of shock coursing through her. _"But, Ms. Amy! Aren't you going to chase Mr. Sonic? We did come here to look for him, after all."_

The voice of Amy laughed again, the tinkling sound floating all around her. _"Of course we did, Cream! But we've traveled way farther then I thought we would. Aren't you tired?"_

Cream cocked her head a little, confused. _"But… Mr. Sonic…"_

Amy shushed her. _"Cream, you know that you're a great friend to me, right? You defiantly deserve a break. Besides, we always find him eventually. If he can wait for me, I can wait for you."_

Cream blinked, the smiled. _"Thank you, Ms. Amy! But what is with the change of heart?"_

Amy looked back at her. _"It's just something I would do for any friend of mine!"_ She winked at her. _"Come on, let's go!" _She started running away into the bright white light.

_"Ms. Amy! Ms. Amy! Wait for me!"_ She started running too, reaching for Amy's arm…

* * *

...Then grabbed it, but it was… orange? 

Cream blinked. _'What… what just happened?' _She shook her head, still holding onto Tails's arm. _'How did I remember something like that? That was years ago…'_

"C-Cream?" A hoarse whisper reached her ears. She looked down at Tails's form. _'Did he just…?'_

"Cream… are you really… going to leave Amy behind?" Tails continued, still whispering.

Cream's breathing hitched in her lungs. _'Am… am I?'_

Tails looked straight ahead in a strange, glazed stare. "Please, Cream… don't turn into the thing that I've become…"

"Don't… don't do this to a friend…"

The rabbit just stared in horrified shock at Tails. "But… but what have you ever done?"

Tails finally turned his gaze away, and stared deeply into Cream's eyes. Cream resisted the urge to flinch at the emptiness they held. They seemed to have lost all the innocent shine in them.

"Cream… Cream… I think I want to kill him… I think I want to kill Sonic…"

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**_A/N: _**I know that this chapter was kinda pointless for you Team Chaotix haters out there, but I needed to do something with them! I can't just leave them there, standing around... Anyways, this chapter was originally supposed to have alot more about Tails and Cream, but it was getting way too big... like over 6000 words... this chapter is already around like 3700 words or something (sweatdrops).

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**Answers to Anonymous Reviews:**

**hedge8701: **Gee, thanks! I was really proud of that chapter.

**xDDDD: **I'm so sorry, Sonic... but it's just so much fun to munipulate you with my twisted mind... Thanks for reviewing!

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azngirlchibi 


	14. Chapter 14 Choices

**_A/N: _**Ok, this chapter is a little shorter than usual (besides the one extremly, extremly only 700 words long one...). Dunno what came over me. It was kinda hard for me to keep Cream and Tails in character for me (or as in character as you can be when your best friend wants to kill you...). I'm not exactly their biggest fans... let's just say that... heh heh...

And I'm really grateful for the flood of reviews I got for the last chapter. I was overwhelmed! I have no idea what I did in the last chapter, but OH WELL! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

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**Disclaimer: **Hmm... I wonder why I put the disclaimer up here this time? Anyways, no, I don't own... I think I can pretty much guarantee myself that I won't get sued now...**

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**

**Character Ages**

_Sonic: 23_

_Amy: 20_

_Tails: 16_

_Cream: 14_

_Eggman: Unknown_

_Metal Sonic: Unknown_

_Knuckles: 24_

_Rouge: 26_

_Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be..._

_Vector: 28_

_Espio: 24_

_Charmy: 14

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_

Cream shivered. Tails had said those words so quietly, but she could hear the seriousness behind them…. the quiet, deadly seriousness behind his whisper of a voice. His eyes still held Cream's as they grew hard, hard as a diamond, without the slightest hint of the light that usually glowed so warmly behind them. "Please, Cream… don't do it," he said again. Then, he abruptly turned away from her, his eyes staring down at his shoes, but Cream could sense that the hardness that she had seen in them did not vanish.

"So?" The hedgehog was once again starting to turn impatient. "I would think that your answer would be clear the first time I made you the offer. What can you do against me, after all?"

The rabbit could feel herself going back to square one again. _'What do I do?'_ She didn't have much of a choice, she admitted to herself. It was either grab Tails, and save him and herself, but leave Amy behind, or stay and get them all killed. Maybe if she left with Tails, she could get reinforcements… but Amy would surely be dead by then, and the hedgehog would be gone. _'She has helped me through so much… what kind of friend would I be to leave her behind like this?'_ She looked over at Amy, hoping for any sort of reaction from her, but Amy was still staring, her eyes seeming to be covered by complete blankness. _'Is Amy even here anymore? Would she thank me if I stayed with her and got myself killed? Would she curse me for the rest of eternity if I left her?'_

_'Cream, what do **you **want to do?' _A voice seemed to ask her.

Before she could answer herself, Sonic broke her out of her thoughts. "This is taking too long," he growled, causing Cream to almost jump out of her skin. "You've got until five, princess."

_'No!'_ Her mind screamed. _'But… but I don't know…'_

"One…"

_'… what I want to do…'_

"Two…"

_'Yes, you do… you want to stay and protect the others…'_

"Three…"

'_But…I'm not strong enough… I'm not brave enough…'_

"Four…"

_'Yes you are… think of all the other dangers you have faced, all the things that you've been through…'_

"Five…"

_'You **are **brave, and you **are **strong…'_

"Time's up."

_'Now prove yourself…'_

There was an explosion of fur and quills as Sonic charged. Nobody could tell what happened for a second…

Then, it cleared. Cream stared down at herself surprised, barely remembering how she got where she was.

"Huh," said Sonic, looking at his empty hands, and then at Cream, who was about three meters away from him. "So you do have a little fight in ya."

Cream got up from her kneeling position a little shakily. She swallowed, her mouth dry. _'Did I just…?' _Yes, she hardly remembered moving away, but she had. She had propelled herself backwards using the wind that usually screamed behind Sonic as he ran, boosting her speed as she flew. She could almost remember feeling Amy's hand as she grabbed it, while gripping onto Tails all the while. Cream touched her ears. Was the wind that had caused them to swell and lift them all to safety really there?

_'I think… I think I might be really able to do this…'_

"Impressive." Sonic clapped his gloved hands. "Now, let's see you do that again…"

Cream spread her legs out into a battle stance. She was ready this time.

Again, Sonic charged at them.

Cream tried to do the same thing as she had done before, and she readied herself for a blast of wind from Sonic as she tightened her sweaty grip on Tails and Amy.

There! She felt it… the ripple going through her fur as the wind started to thread it's way through it. Her ears started to swell again as the wind billowed towards her.

_'Heh…' _Sonic gave his famous, self-confident smile. _'That's not going to work twice…' _he thought to himself. He curled into a ball and jumped up high, right above their heads.

Cream gasped in surprise as Sonic changed his course. When Sonic was directly above them, he uncurled from his ball and started to free-fall towards them with his arms wide open.

She couldn't dodge this one. Sonic landed directly in front of her, knocking her off balance. He stood back up slowly, teetering a little from dizziness. _'Impossible!' _he thought to himself, outraged that he let that thought even cross his mind. _'I have unlimited power!'_

His slight teeter didn't escape Cream's eyes. _'So he is tired from all those fights. Maybe those wounds are starting to get to him…'_

Sonic looked down at the rabbit, towering over her small figure. "You're not even worth a good practice…"

Cream starting backing slowly away, dragging her two charges along with her. Suddenly, her right hand hit a rock. A very good sized rock, from the way that it felt. Just the right size and shape… it almost reminded her… of a chao?

Slowly, she let go of Tails arm, never taking her eyes off Sonic, who seemed to have taken off on another of his little 'speeches.'

Suddenly, she hurled the rock as hard as she could at Sonic, the exact same way she would hurl Cheese at one of Robotnik's creations. Luckily, the rock had a hard, pointed top, and Cream had a lot of strength for someone of her age. She managed to stun and surprise Sonic just a little as the rock blew him back a few feet.

_'Here's my chance,' _thought Cream, ready to take off to the air…

… until an orange-yellow blur streaked pass her.

"Tails!" she shouted, realizing that he was no longer by her side.

Sonic recovered just in time to see Tails coming at him, his icy diamond eyes riveted at his form. Sonic jumped back just in time to avoid a punch from Tails.

_'That look…' _thought Sonic, glaring at the young fox. _'He has that look… the look of a killer…' _Sonic wasn't worried though. He knew he was faster, stronger, more agile, _better _than Tails in this situation. _'He'll be gone in one blow…'_

The two began to circle each other, one warily, the other with arrogance. "Are you sure you're ready for this, _lil bro?_" he asked, his voice emphasizing 'lil bro.' "Not afraid of getting hurt?"

Tails didn't say anything in reply. He felt so… strangely calm. Like the eye in the center of a storm. Indeed, he could feel his heart race and his palms sweat, but his mind was cool, focused on his one goal: _'I'm going to do it. I'm going to kill my role model, my best friend… my brother. Because of me… he will breathe his last breath…'_

They circled a few more times. The thunder echoed, and lightening followed its' companion soon after. Then, the two on the ground, with the rainy sky above them, charged at each other.

Tails took a feinting lunge to the left. Quickly, he backed up, and then shot a leg forward in an attempt to knock Sonic off his feet. Sonic jumped, then spin-dashed Tails in his face, who started to fall over backwards. Before he fell though, the fox used his two tails to cushion his fall and spring him towards Sonic. When he got near enough, he spun on his heel, and his tails lashed out towards the blue hedgehog. Sonic flipped back, and Tails stopped his attack right at the moment Sonic attempted a sliding kick to throw him off balance. Tails jumped, and took to the air, his twin tails spinning madly. Sonic looked up at his challenger's disappearing form, and jumped off the ground after him.

Ten feet… twenty feet… thirty feet…

_'Higher…' _Tails thought to himself, pushing himself to his limits and beyond. _'Higher… higher…' _He ignored the way the lightening seemed to miss him by mere inches, the way the thunder almost deafened his sensitive ears, the way the rain soaked through his fur, his skin… _'Higher!' _He shot through the clouds.

Suddenly, he stopped, his tails finally drooping in exhaustion. Not done yet, he curled himself into a ball, the dropped like a bomb from the sky towards Sonic.

Cream craned her head up as high as she could, trying to see what was happening. _'Tails…' _His name brought pity into her heart. _'So… it all comes down to this…' _She bit her lip, then squinted as a dot in the sky started to come into view, dropping with intense speed towards Sonic who was still launched in the air. _'It's… it's Tails!' _Her eyes widened. He was going at speeds that could match Sonic's! And if he's going that fast… _'… there's bound to be an explosion!' _Her eyes darted frantically around. There was barely anything to hide in. Almost everything had been decimated because of all the fights… but she had to find something! Soon, her eyes rested on an overturned computer, lying on it's side, the screen smashed. As gently as she could, she lifted Amy onto her back and placed her inside the computer. There was just enough room to fit her small body inside with Amy's. She looked around at the bodies of her friends, then back up at Tails and Sonic. _'Damnit… I don't have enough time to hide them…' _It couldn't be helped, but her heart was still heavy with regret as she climbed inside the computer with Amy. As soon as she was sure they were both tucked safely inside, she poked her head out to watch the two as they battled. _'It really has gone down to this…' _She glanced at Amy, who was facing the wall. _'Poor Amy…' _

Sonic saw the incoming fox heading towards his direction. He too curled into a ball, and aimed a homing attack at his direction.

The two attacks met.

Cream pulled her head back inside just in time to avoid a collision with an incoming piece of metal swept up by the wind caused by the explosion in the sky. It bounced off the outside of the computer harmlessly, and to Cream's relief, her unconscious friends seemed to be coping very well with the explosion. She peeked out again, her eyes taking a little time to adjust to the stinging wind. She saw the two fighters locked together, their attacks grinding against each other, and they seemed to almost float in midair. Static started to spark between them.

_'Oh no…' _Cream's mind gasped.

A lightening bolt leaped out from the sky like a finger, and wrapped itself around both Sonic and Tails. The two broke apart and started to fall from the sky.

Cream leaped out from inside the computer and took to the air.

Fireworks sparked in Tails's mind. It felt like a knife was stabbing his head repeatedly, and all his eyes could see was white. A clanging sound was bouncing around his eardrums; his heart was beating so fast that if felt like it would swell out of his chest. Every pore was on fire, every nerve was encased in electricity. His mind howled for it all to stop, for all of it to end…

Cream caught Tails in her arms just in time as he nearly smashed into the ground. Sonic whizzed past her and crashed into the ground, a giant crater appearing like a footprint where he landed. Cream started a slow descent, crying Tails's name all the while, silently fearing that he was gone too. She landed on the ground with a _thud_.

"Oh… Cream…" Instantly, the said girl silenced her shouting.

"Tails…" she gently set him on the ground. "… Tails… you're still here? Can you hear me?" Cream was trying her hardest to hold back a flood of tears. Tails just looked so… helpless. His breathing was so rapid, yet so shallow, like he was fighting for every breath. She brushed back his bangs, then grabbed her hand back suddenly as the searing heat of his forehead was felt through her glove. Grabbing his hand, she felt his pulse, trying to not pass out from the overwhelming smell of charred flesh. _'It's… it's so faint…' _She stroked his hand. "Don't leave me too," she whispered, her tears starting to fall onto Tails's chest.

"Ugh…" Her ears perked up at the sound of his voice. "Cream… Cream, is that you?" He smiled a bit, a little glow returning to his eyes. "Can you tell me…?" his voice was alarmingly weak. "… Is Sonic…?"

"No, he isn't."

Terror constricted her chest. Her eyes wide, she whipped around, finding herself face to face with Sonic's looming figure. Before she could even react, her body was flung aside like a rag doll.

Weakly, she got up, coughing a bit, almost like she was choking on air. "H-How…"

Sonic spared her one sharp, piercing glance. Cream resisted the urge to vomit at the sight of the burnt skin and singed-off fur that seemed to be barely able to cling onto his bones. "Do you honestly think that after all those fights that a little lightening bolt is going to be able to stop me?" He laughed, but it sounded more forced and wheezy than usual. His eyes reverted back to Tails's helpless form. "I am a creature of pure power, and you have dared to challenge me. Now… you will die…"

Desperately, Cream looked for a way to distract him. She grabbed another rock off the ground. "Hey, Sonic!" she shouted, trying to get his attention.

Sonic turned, and she threw the rock. It hit him on the forehead, but because of Cream's fear, she did not throw it with the usual strength that she would. It left him with a bruise in between the eyes, but Sonic was neither shocked nor fazed like before. He just seemed… annoyed.

Sonic rubbed the mark with a gloved finger. "Wow… you're really starting to tick me off…" He sped towards her.

Cream barely had the chance to blink. She looked down at her orange dress. Instead of rain… it was now soaked in blood, coming from the three scars now crossing her chest. She looked back up. Sonic was flicking red liquid off his gloves.

Then, the pain came. Cream opened her mouth, trying to inhale air. She collapsed on her knees, her body numb from the pain, her hands clutching her stomach as the blood seeped into her pure white glove. Her eyes felt like it was starting to be clouded over by a red, hazy fog.

Sonic was coming closer, with a maniacal look in his eyes. _Blood lusting _eyes. Weakly, her strength disappearing with every drop of blood leaving her body, she tried to hurl another rock at him.

Cooley, the blue hedgehog held up a hand and caught it just as it was mere inches from his face. The rock smoked in his hand. "You're really, _really_ annoying…" he said, voice low.

There was no place to run, nowhere to hide, nothing to defend herself with.

Lightning flashed, thunder exploded, rain fell…

Cream prepared to be engulfed by the arms of darkness…

A gasping, choking sound met her ears… and it was not her own…

Even though her eyes were wide and staring at the scene before her, her mind didn't see it… until she saw the figure behind Sonic.

"Sonic…" Tails was somehow on his feet, and his tails had somehow snaked their way towards Sonic and found his neck. "Stay away from her…" His grip on Sonic's neck tightened, cutting of his air supply. Another guttural sound of a choke tore out of Sonic's lips.

Cream stood up, wincing as pain shot through her body once more. "Tails… you're… you're going to do it?" Sonic's hands were tugging and clawing desperately at Tails's hold on him, his eyes wide with panic for once.

Tails looked away, avoiding eye contact with both Cream and Sonic. "Cream… I have to do this…"

The young rabbit took a few small, hesitant steps forward. "But… but Sonic…"

"Look, Cream," Tails now looked directly at her eyes. Eyes that flashed with hate… and yet were flushed with fear. "This… this _thing_… it isn't Sonic…" Were those tears collecting around the corner of his eyes? "I… I have to…" His voice trailed off. His tails seemed to slacken slightly.

Before Cream could say anything, another voice interrupted her. "T-Tails…? What's… what's going on…?"

Mouth agape, Cream's eyes darted over to Sonic's face. That voice that just came out of his mouth… that was _defiantly_ not the voice of the monster that they had been facing earlier.

Tails seemed to notice this too. Almost hesitantly, almost afraid to say it out loud, he looked at Sonic, who was still struggling in his grip. "S-Sonic…?"

Emerald eyes flashed in recognition. They held emotion, and weren't simply the two stones that Tails had seen earlier. _'No… no, it's a trap!'_ His tails tightened around Sonic's neck.

Sonic gasped at the pressure. "Tails?" His voice was high, strained. His face was starting to blank. "B-buddy?"

Tails flinched. _'Buddy…' _He looked back at him, his mind in a muddled state of confusion. A part of him ordered for him to stay put, keep his tails around his neck. But the other part… it was ashamed of what he was doing. _'You're no better than Sonic…' _But did that really matter anymore? He had to put his foot down. He had… to stop… Sonic…

He could feel his resolve slipping with every thrash from Sonic's body, every gasp of air that he tried to inhale. The vulpine felt his eyes staring at Cream's, her dress ripped, blood dripping onto the ground. She was staring at Sonic in pure horror, watching as he fought for life and breath. He found himself looking at Sonic too, staring at Sonic's face, who's pleading eyes were starting to dim. His movements seemed to be getting weaker and weaker… his attempts to get out of his grip starting to stop…

_'I… I can't…' _Both shame and relief flushed through his body, making him dizzy. _'I can't… I can't kill Sonic…but yet…' _His grip slackened a bit more…

A sharp pain burned his skull, and he blacked out.

* * *

**_A/N: _**(GASP!) Sonic has really, really sunk low, hasn't he? (GASP again) Anyways, I'M GONNA GET SONIC RIDERS TODAY! Yay! Some people are telling me it sucked out loud, but I'm gonna try it anyways. I also got Sonic DX (what? There was a special, ok?), and I was apalled every time they opened their mouth to talk. Their mouths (mouths?) were way too low, and Sonic had fangs! (shudders).

Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

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**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**Janelle Eppler: **Here's the update! Thnx for reviewing!

**Jacqueline: **Don't worry... you'll find out soon... very soon... (ahem). Hope you enjoy reading this!

azngirlchibi


	15. Chapter 15 No More

**_A/N: _**LONG LIVE PROCRASTINATION! Yeah, ok... Anyways, I beat Sonic Adventure DX yesterday... and it was actually not as hard as I thought it would be. And when I played the last final "Super Sonic" level... well, I was watching the cutscene, and I was like, "Holy #!$, this sounds almost exactly like my fanfic!" You know, the whole "Chaos only used the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds," thingy. And I've never, ever played Sonic DX before recently, so my hopes were kinda shot down that this would be an original story (in terms of Chaos Emerald theory). Oh, well. Trust me, this is definatly _not_ the first time it happened to me...

Another note: my parents thought it would be nice to "surprise" me about the trip we might be taking this year (for summer... I haven't went anywhere yet...). We might be leaving... around... (checks calender)... the second week of August-ish? If my parents aren't too busy. So I'll try to squeeze in one or two chapters before I leave, ok?

So here's the fic, and enjoy!

BTW, SONIC RIDERS DOES NOT SUCK!

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**Age Changes:**

_Sonic: 23_

_Amy: 20_

_Tails: 16_

_Cream: 14_

_Eggman: Unknown_

_Metal Sonic: Unknown_

_Knuckles: 24_

_Rouge: 26_

_Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be..._

_Vector: 28_

_Espio: 24_

_Charmy: 14

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**Disclaimer: **(Gasp!) Omg, the disclaimer is down here this time! WOW! (ahem) I'm ok... and I don't own no Sonic... He and any related character belongs to SEGA (which, strangely, is AGES spelt backwords...)

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_

"I hate you…"

Cream's hands were clenched to her sides, shaking uncontrollably.

"I hate you… I hate you… I hate you!" she screamed at Sonic. She launched herself at him blindly, not caring if she hit him or not. She couldn't get those images out of her mind… the way Tails had fell slowly forward, as if in a dream, the way the blood poured out of the wound in his head, how the blood covered the stone that Sonic clutched in his hand, and how his eyes had turned from soft to hard again as easily as a snake shed it's skin.

"I hate you!" she sobbed, but her movements were still strong. Sonic hadn't moved for some reason. All her kicks landed, her punches smashed into him hard. His body was shaking from her blows.

Suddenly, Sonic caught one of her fists just before they landed on his face. Cream shook, her body convulsing horribly from anger, pushing away the pain of the slashes across her front.

Her body was lifted into the air, giving her no time to react. She was flung roughly by the arm, so hard that she felt her shoulder pop out of place. She landed on something sharp, and it buried itself into her back, knocking the wind out of her. She groaned as she weakly tried to push herself up, but she was pushed back down. Cream looked up, trying to breathe as more pressure was applied to her chest, and the sharp pain in her back increased.

Sonic had her trapped under his foot. He was slowly crushing her, his ears perking every time he added more weight and received a gasp. "How does it feel, _Cream?_" he spat at her. "How does it feel to die such a slow death? How does it feel to think that the next breath you take may be your last, that every single breath of air you take in is like Death entering your body?" He stepped harder onto her chest, slowly crushing her lungs. "You start to feel desperate don't you? Don't you see? That was why my other side appeared…" His eyes seemed to turn even harder, if it was possible. "He's afraid of Death. He doesn't want to die."

Cream's mind was starting to kick into overdrive, yet it was also slowly starting to dull. Images were starting to die, and the red haze that had swum before her eyes was starting to darken into a thick fog. _'I don't want to die,' _she realized. _'I… I still have so much to live for, so much to look forward to…'_ The image of Tails, with his face in the mud, came back to him. _'No… he's not dead! He's not dead! I know he isn't! No one's dead, no one! No one's going to die; they have to be still alive!' _She felt like she was six again, holding onto a silly hope like that. _'They're not dead! If… if the real Sonic is still in there…'_ The image of his eyes, his _real_ eyes, appearing again, even if it was for a second, came back to her, giving her hope._ 'He would never… I still have hope. I need to hope, and I need to live!'_

"I…" Cream choked out. She slowly brought a hand up to the foot he had on her chest. "I'm not… going… to die!"

Sonic looked back down at her. "Heh, you still have the breath to talk? We'll fix that…"

Cream's eyes started darting frantically around, trying to see through the darkening fog. A sudden, dull shine caught her eye. Without thinking, she reached out for it as quickly as she could, and threw it at Sonic with her remaining strength.

She was surprised when she heard a cry of pain, and the pressure on her chest was lifted. A rush of air raced it's way into her lungs, and she gulped it down eagerly. The dark red in her eyes thinned back into a mist that danced around the edges of her vision.

The glimmering objects that had shone before her eyes started to sharpen and define themselves before her eyes. _'The Chaos Emeralds!'_

Sonic had thrown her, and she had landed in the midst of the Chaos Emeralds!

Cream looked back up at Sonic. A horrible burn mark had appeared on his shoulder, and he was actually grimacing in pain. The Chaos Emerald she had thrown had burned through the bits of fur that hadn't been singed off by the lightening strike, and exposed his skin. It started to blister.

_'H-how? How did I…?' _She stared at the wound with a mixture of awe and disgust on her face. _'Why did the Chaos Emerald burn his skin?'_

Then, as if from a long forgotten dream, Knuckles's words came back to her, so loudly and clearly that she looked back at his body to see if he was really talking to her, though of course, he wasn't. _"The Chaos Emeralds have to have a good balance of both negative and positive energy. The other Chaos Emeralds must've sense the imbalance, and started reacting to the amount of negative energy coming off of Sonic that he absorbed."_

_'So… is this another way that the Chaos Emeralds react to the imbalance?' _She shook her head, an old habit of hers when she was confused. _'Well… I don't know what's happening, but…' _She reached down, grabbing the green and yellow Chaos Emeralds off the ground, ignoring her protesting body. _'… I can defend myself now.' _She rushed at Sonic in a burst of speed.

Sonic was too busy, and too astonished at the pain in his shoulder to pay attention to the rabbit before him. This side of him didn't know pain… didn't know loss, or any of those _weak _emotions. Pain surprised him, even angered him. _'I shouldn't have to feel this. I don't need this emotion… it's useless!'_

Oblivious to Sonic's thoughts and increasing anger, Cream held out the two Emeralds before her and pushed them into Sonic's face.

A horrible scream, worse than any nightmare that had ever crossed Cream's mind, was what she was answered with. She pressed on though, trying to ignore the screams, the intensifying smell of blood that made her eyes water. _'I can do this… I can do this!'_

Suddenly, her wrist was grabbed and twisted, painfully. The yellow Chaos Emerald fell out of her hand, and the screams lessened. Unwilling to give up, Cream tried even harder to keep the green Emerald gripped in her hand and in Sonic's face, but even that one was painfully pried out of her hands too. Sonic seemed to hold onto this Emerald for a while as the thin material of his glove started to burn through, but as soon as it touched his skin, he threw it somewhere behind him.

Somehow, they way he stared at her with true anger in his eyes was even scarier than his now mutilated face. No more playfulness, no more cruel enjoyment. Just simple, pure, anger.

He grabbed Cream's face, forcing it closer to his. Sonic squeezed it as hard as he could, until painfully tears started to collect around the corner of her eyes. "You… you made me feel this!" He threw Cream away from him, disgusted. "You made me feel this! You made me feel this!" Sonic said it, over and over again, anger building with every word.

Cream was beyond frightened, beyond desperate. Her sense were gone, feelings were gone, even her instincts seemed to have disappeared.

But maybe it was better that way.

Maybe it was better that she wouldn't hear herself scream.

* * *

There was silence… pure and complete, like the world had stood still. 

_'No more pain… no more sorrow… no more love…'_

Her eyes were wide open, yet she saw nothing. The hard ground beneath her dug into her clothing, her fur, and her skin, yet she couldn't feel it. And even though her heart felt like it was slowly being ripped out of her chest, an empty void felt like it had swallowed all her emotions.

Amy would be in perfect bliss… if she could feel bliss…

_'No more… no more…'_

Everything that had happened after Sonic had struck her was a huge blur. She vaguely remembered being moved… and then somehow… she had ended up inside this computer…

Oh yes… there was one thing that she did remember… the screams… screams that cried for help, that pleaded for mercy, that sounded as broken as she felt, that pierced through the silence she was surrounded in…

_'… But I don't care anymore…'_

_'I don't have the breath to scream anymore… I don't have the tears to cry anymore… and I don't have a heart to feel anymore…'_

She wanted none of it. She didn't want to feel the love that used to flow through her veins, she didn't want to feel that exhilaration she'd always felt when she simply breathed, when the sunlight warmed her face…

… Or when Sonic met her gaze…

A searing pain swept through her very being. It was like the empty void… the bottomless, empty void had finally run out of room to hold her feelings.

And just because of one name.

_'No!' _Emotions, timeless… ageless… they whirled around her, mocking her, spited her… _'I don't want them… I don't want them anymore… they hurt… they hurt too much…'_

Where were the tears to rid them when she needed them? For that was what tears had always been for to Amy… emotions that she wanted to get rid off, emotions that she couldn't handle.

_'Sonic…'_

First, she felt the love that had once coursed through her. She could almost taste the name on her lips, the way it rolled off her tongue so easily. How her heart had pounded the first time he had saved her! And all the adventures they had together afterwards were something that she would never forget, all the times she had looked at him as he saved the day were moments that she cherished. She felt the familiar warmth that flushed from her heart and to every part of her body as she imagined him and his sparkling eyes before her…

Then, there was the sorrow again, the hate. Instantly, the image of those eyes disappeared. How easily he had made her… and how easily he had broken her again. And again. And again. How many times had she looked at that picture of them together and felt like ripping it into little pieces? How many times had she thought of those memories where he had comforted her, consoled her, and then of the times he had ran away like she didn't exist? How many times had she waited for him, only to be disappointed?

_'And yet… how many times had he returned to you? How many times did you look at that picture… that exact same picture… and felt all your troubles go away? How many times had you told him that you loved him, and thought that you saw his eyes shine a little?'_

But these were just emotions. More emotions. Why couldn't they just leave her now? Leave her now, once and for all. Maybe then she would have peace. Maybe then she could feel her heart beating without thinking of the feelings that it could bring. Sadness, hate, longing, joy, and… and love. Yes, even love. She even wanted that feeling to disappear from her life.

_'Why? Why can't they just leave me alone?'_

An image of emerald green eyes came back to her, soft and enticing, beckoning her towards them.

_'That's why…'_

Amy couldn't help herself. She felt herself being pulled once again, irresistibly pulled along like she was holding onto a piece of string. The eyes seemed to turn brighter and brighter, engulfing her in an oasis that was dyed the softness of green light.

_"Hey, Amy."_

It was gone. The cold, the dirt, the base, the storm. All of it was gone. Amy had dived deep into a warm, green pool, but her back was pressed up against someone else's, his spines soft against hers. She tried to turn around to face the figure, but somehow, her body didn't want to. It was perfectly content to be right there, right near this person.

_"Amy?" _She felt the head shift a little, and she could almost see the cocky smile that she knew would've spread across it. _"Long time no see…"_

The green, watery oasis seemed to shift around her. _"Am I dreaming…?"_

A chuckle answered her. Amy didn't know that she had said those words out loud. _"It's me, Amy. No one else."_

The voice brought back so many memories. She thought that she had sealed them away forever, never to be seen again… but they were back, but they weren't the ones that had mocked her earlier. They felt like warm, watery fingers that stroked her face tenderly, and she almost reached out to see if an invisible figure was in front of her.

_"Amy…" _The soft, gentle voice soothed her again, and she relaxed even more against the person's back. The voice laughed again. _"Are you going to be ok, now?"_

Tears suddenly sprang to her eyes, and they turned into little bubbles that floated away from her. She bit back a sob. _"Sonic… I'm sorry… I'm so, so, sorry…"_

_"Sorry?" _Amy could almost see his smile lessen. _"Sorry for what?"_

This time, the tears really started to flow. Her voice shook, and she sobbed. _"I'm so sorry… Sonic… I was too weak. I couldn't save you! I… I let Eggman capture you, just so you could save me! I can't do anything right… I'm so useless…" _She whispered the last part. _"I'm useless, Sonic. Useless… I shouldn't stay with you anymore. I just endanger you and the people around you. I'm too weak… I-"_

Amy was cut off by a pair of arms spinning her around. She found her face pressed up against someone's chest, being held tightly. She couldn't take it anymore. Burying herself into Sonic's chest, she somehow found the tears to cry. For a long while, she felt like the oasis around her was her tears, and there was not a sound as her crying, stuttering voice echoed everywhere. _"I'm so sorry, Sonic. I'm so sorry…"_

_"Ames!" _Amy was shocked by the firmness of his voice. She didn't look up, but just hid herself in his chest. _"Amy… you know it's not your fault. Even if you could stop me from going to Eggman, I would've gone anyway, and you know it." _His voice softened. _"I don't just do this because I have to, Amy. I do this because I love you."_

Amy just shook her head. _"But Sonic…"_

She felt her chin being gently lifted by a hand, and she found herself staring into hazy, green eyes. _"Amy…" _Why did he look so sad? _"How do I make you understand? I can't come back to you when you're not here, can I?" _He laughed a little.

Her tears didn't stop flowing, but she stared at those eyes. She could feel her heart start beating again… really beating.

_"See you soon, ok Ames?"_

Then, everything reappeared again all at once. Amy blinked slowly, like she hadn't moved her body in years. A faint glimmer caught her eye, and she turned slowly towards it.

In her hand, she had the green Chaos Emerald. It seemed to flare a little, like it was answering to Amy's gaze. Her mind still felt strange after not being used for so long, and to have the Chaos Emerald appear so suddenly in her hand was enough to send it reeling. _'How? How?'_

The Emerald flared again, and she felt it send a clear, almost refreshing stream of energy into her. Everything within her seemed to slowly start again, like a door that hadn't been opened in a long while and the room it led to was now covered in dust. Her mind was starting to sift through things again, and it uncovered a name.

_'Sonic… Sonic!'_

She bolted upright, her hand still clutching the Emerald. She stared wildly about her. _'I… I have to find Sonic! And I have to save him somehow…'_

Slowly standing up, she moved her limbs, though they didn't quite obey her as readily as they had in the past. Her body was still weak, but there was no time to sit down and rest. _'Hold on Sonic… hold on!'

* * *

_

A mountain range stretched out before him, long and endless, yet he still ran. Sonic ran tirelessly, but if felt like he would never stop. Somehow, even with all this space before him, he still felt confined, trapped, like he had nowhere to go. He didn't stop once, not for a second. There was so much freedom before him… and yet… complete and utter freedom didn't feel quite as wonderful as he had thought it would.

_'Heh, no problem,' _he thought to himself. _'I'll just keep running until I get out of here. These mountains have to lead somewhere… right?'_

He felt his feet go even faster, and his heart felt the familiar, excited beating as he gained speed. _'Almost… almost…' _His ears were laid back, his quills cutting through the air. His body was bent low as everything blurred past him.

**_"You can't run forever… Sonic."_**

Sonic stopped abruptly after hearing the voice. His heels dug into the ground as he skidded to a halt.

_"Who's there?" _he demanded.

He was greeted by silence.

Sonic started walking forwards, slowly now. Suddenly, he realized that the ground felt… different, somehow. Looking down, he saw that the mountain paths he had ran along were gone now. In fact, the whole mountain range was gone! Shaking his head around in slight panic, he saw that he was surrounded by darkness.

_"How did I get here?" _he asked aloud to himself.

More silence.

_"Hey! Sonic!"_

The familiar voice of a young fox reached his ears. Spinning around, he saw Tails running towards him. _"Tails! What are you doing here?"_

Tails seemed to completely and utterly ignore him. He trotted right up to him.

_"Tails?" _Tentatively, he raised a hand to place on his shoulder. _"Is that really you?"_ Slowly, he placed his hand on his friend.

A scream, then blood.

Sonic jerked back his hand in horror. Tails was now lying down before him, his head bleeding heavily from a wound. _"Tails! Tails, what's wrong?"_

Then, before his very eyes, Tails shifted and changed.

_"Shadow?" _Sonic blinked in confusion. _"Shadow, what's going on?"_

Shadow didn't answer him. He just stared straight ahead, unblinking.

_"Shadow?" _His hands lightly brushed past his fur.

More screams, more blood.

Sonic was in a living nightmare. Speechless with horror, Sonic felt himself back away slowly, his breathing quick and shallow. Turning his body from the horrible sight of Shadow's bleeding body, he turned tail and ran.

_"Sonic?" _Another voice? But Sonic couldn't stop. He couldn't hurt another one of his friends, for he was sure now that it was his fault that his friends were bleeding, his fault that they were dying.

A red blur appeared directly in front of him, and Sonic couldn't stop in time. With deep dread, Sonic slowly turned around, and saw both Knuckles and Rouge, lying together on the ground, unconscious.

_"No!" _Another, louder voice cried out. _"What have you done?" _The Chaotix Team appeared out of nowhere, and started charging at him.

_"Don't come close to me! Don't touch me!" _Frantically, Sonic tried to run, but he was too late. Vector had barely laid a finger on him, but the trio was on the ground, piled unceremoniously on top of each other.

_"No… no… no!" _Sonic fell on his hands and knees. _"Why is this happening?"_

Though he wasn't really expecting an answer, the voice answered him again. **_"Because you were too weak to save them."_**

It was the same voice again, the voice that had haunted him for a long time. Sonic turned again, and this time… he saw that he was face to face with… himself.

Sonic backed away again, panic overtaking him. This hedgehog… he looked like him, walked like him, sounded like him… but he wasn't him… was he?

**_"Oh?" _**The other figure laughed cruelly, moving in on Sonic, each footstep matching his. **_"Afraid of yourself now, are you?"_**

Sonic shook his head frantically. _"You're not me…"_

The other hedgehog raised an eyebrow. **_"Are you sure? Then how do you explain… this?"_**

It was like a curtain lifted up before his eyes, and a huge landscape of a stormy sky over a destroyed building appeared. But the picture was moving, and he could sense everything that was happening, touch all the objects before him, and hear the scream that filled the air.

Sonic felt his mouth move. **_"You die now… Cream…"_**

_"No!" _Forcefully, he was shot back out painfully from the landscape. _"That's not me! I wouldn't do this!" _

The other blue hedgehog appeared again, and this time, his mouth was twisted up into a smirk. **_"But you always thought that she was an annoying little girl who couldn't do anything, didn't you? Even more useless than Tails…"_**

Sonic just shook his head again, so hard that he felt for sure that it would fall off. _"What have you done to them?" _he shouted, not bothering to cover the desperate plea in his voice.

His mirror image disappeared, leaving behind only the voice. **_"I haven't done anything… it's all your fault."_**

Before Sonic could do anything further, before he could shout, attack, or do anything at all, a huge wave of sea-green water flooded towards him, and he was swept up by the pulling water. Gasping, choking, Sonic flailed his arms, but what good was that when he couldn't swim? Another wave, taller than the rest, swept up over him like a giant hand and forced his head underwater.

Then, there was silence… pure and complete, like the world had stood still.

With all his might, Sonic forced open his eyes, and found himself staring at the calmness of a huge, green oasis. Bubbles floated around him, and for some reason, he could breath. But that wasn't what surprised him. He sensed another presence near him.

_'She's here… Amy's here!'_

Not knowing how, not caring how, he swam out, just a little. The water caressed him softly, and for a second, his mind calmed.

A sound reached his ears, and they swiveled towards the sound. _'Is that… a giggle?'_

Yes, it was. But it wasn't just any giggle. It floated around him, like the bubbles that surrounded him each held a note caused by that giggle. Something swirled around him, and it wasn't the water.

_"Amy?"_

The water around him seemed to shiver in response. He looked around, but he couldn't see her. _"Amy… you're here, aren't you?"_

Glittering, a single, tendril of water reached out towards him. Sonic reached out a hand, and it almost seemed to settle there. _"I'm so sorry, Amy… I… I forgot…"_

A wavering beam of light hit his face as the water refracted and shifted the light towards him. Sonic trembled slightly, remorse showing on his face. _"Amy… you told me to come back to you, and I forgot. I don't know why, and I don't know how… but somehow… I just forgot."_

He felt Amy's presence leave his hand, and felt it once again start swirling around him. _"I don't deserve you, Amy. You'll get hurt if you're around me. I can't let that happen to you…"_

Amy's presence shifted and changed again. This time, it wrapped itself around him like a cloak, soothing him.

Sonic held out his arms. _"Amy…" _Suddenly, he held them out before him, and it was like he had gathered Amy's aura in his arms. _"Please… you can't stay with me. I'll hurt you… and I can't protect you from myself…"_

The water glittered in his arms, and it almost seemed to darken slightly. Suddenly, he felt it move in his arms towards his face, and he could almost swear he felt something brush past his lips. Then, it slipped out from inside his arms, and seemed to tug at him, pulling him forwards. And for the first time, he heard her voice.

_"You said that you would always be right here by my side," _she said, her voice holding an almost innocent sweetness. _"So I'll wait for you to come back to me, ok?"_

Before he could even answer, the tugging came to an end. The oasis was still there, but he found that his feet were touching solid ground. Sonic looked around, and saw that he was at the bottom of the oasis, with a smooth path under his feet. Looking on, he saw that it curled up, and where it led to was lost in the great height of it.

_'Amy's waiting for me,' _Sonic thought, his mind now calm and clear. _'Amy's waiting for me… I have to go back to her!'_

His feet started moving beneath him, and the smooth path under his feet seemed to propel him forward to his goal. _'Hold on, Amy… hold on!'_

_

* * *

_**_A/N: _**So... here you are. Over 4000 words worth of writing. Hope you had fun reading!

* * *

**Anonymous Reviews:**

**sonicoverlord: **Heh heh... I'm not sure about the "masterpiece" part, but this is my only fic, so ok, let's go with that, lol. Thnx for reading!

**jacqueline**: See? You were right! Sonic is in there... somewhere.Thanks forreading and reviewing!

**The review that had noname whatsoever (literally**):I really, really don't wanna type that all again, so please leave a name lol. I'm really glad that you're enjoying this, and I'm glad you decided to leave a review as well. Hope you'll enjoy the future chapters!

azngirlchibi


	16. Chapter 16 A Strong Heart

**_A/N: _**Yep, managed to stick in a chapter. Now that I think about it, I'll probably be able to upload one more chapter before I leave (nods proudly). I figure that this fic will probably be around twenty-something chapters, so this is far from over. Yeah... btw, I've been bored recently (sigh). WHY WON'T ANY OF YOU UPDATE YOUR FICS? I usually get like at least three story alerts a day... but now, zip, none...

Metal Sonic: Don't worry about her... she has no life. All her friends are out of the country, so she's been home everyday in front of the computer... it's really starting to rot her brain.

Azngirlchibi: You do realize that I'm right here, right?

Metal Sonic: Who cares? You're the one who killed me a few chapters ago, remember?

Azngirlchibi: Ok, you know what? I don't want you as my author's note partner anymore... I'm getting a new one!

* * *

**Age Changes:**

_Sonic: 23_

_Amy: 20_

_Tails: 16_

_Cream: 14_

_Eggman: Unknown_

_Metal Sonic: Unknown_

_Knuckles: 24_

_Rouge: 26_

_Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be..._

_Vector: 28_

_Espio: 24_

_Charmy: 14_

_Tikal: ... she's a spirit..._

_Chaos: ... he's a water god thingy... _

_

* * *

_

**Disclaimer: **... No, I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. I wouldn't be here if I did...

* * *

Terrified, Cream the Rabbit could do nothing but stare as Sonic stared back… no, not stared. More like burn holes through her. Trembling, shaking, she let out another sharp gasp as Sonic's grip on her collar tightened, not enough to cut off her air supply, but enough to make her panic. 

"You die now… Cream…"

She was so scared… so ill-prepared to die. She could feel his hand slowly tighten around her collar, closing the space between her throat and the cloth more and more. She could see his smile as her eyes widened more and more and tears started leaking out.

The cloth touched the fur on her neck… then suddenly loosened. Cream stopped trembling in shock. _'What's he doing?'_

Cream followed the direction of his gaze… and finally saw Amy.

"Amy!" she cried. The name of her friend on her tongue made her forget everything for a second. She was overjoyed to see her back on her feet, even if she did look dirty and in disarray, and the blood from the wound on her cheek was a crusty mess. She was happy, even though Amy's face had taken on an old, almost ancient look, even though her limbs moved slowly, as if they had rusted with age. None of that mattered… _Amy was back._

Finally, Cream heard her voice. It sounded almost creaky and dry, like she'd forgotten how to use it. "Sonic…" Her voice seemed to echo like an old, dry well, yet a well wouldn't have held the determination in her voice. "Put Cream down… now…" A green light emitted from her hand, and Cream shifted her gaze to see her holding a green Chaos Emerald. The very one that Sonic had taken from her and thrown away.

Sonic smirked at the disheveled looking pink hedgehog. He had finally gotten her out into the open. The rest was going to be easy now. "You mean her?" He switched Cream from her right hand to his left, lifting her by the scruff of her collar. "Gladly."

Before either Cream of Amy could blink, Sonic flung her hard to the side. Amy gave a cry and tried to run to her, but she wasn't fast enough. Cream hit her head painfully against the wall, and couldn't fight the darkness as it dragged her away from consciousness.

Amy clenched her one hand that she had opened in an attempt to save Cream. Her eyes narrowed angrily as she snapped her head towards Sonic, who was idly scratching away at an ear.

"Why are you doing this?" she shouted at him, ignoring the strain it did to her voice box. "Why are you trying to hurt everyone? What can you possibly gain from this?"

Sonic's eyes flashed for a second.

Amy looked at him, eyes suddenly pitying. "You don't even know why you're doing this, do you?"

At this, her body was suddenly flung backwards, and her other cheek was stinging now too. The smallest trickle of blood ran down from the cut and into her neck, but Amy didn't even bother to wipe it away. She sat up, her body still slow to respond.

_"He's dying…"_

Amy jerked her head up. Sonic's eyes were casted downwards, and if Amy didn't know any better, he would've thought that Sonic was ashamed. "What…?"

Her question was cut off by Sonic. "With every friend that I rid myself of, with every drop of blood on my hands, his spirit slowly dies…"

Amy didn't need to ask to know who he was talking about.

"Amy… you're the last one. The last, and greatest, obstacle that I need to rid me of… then I will finally have true and complete control." Sonic looked up, his pupils as small as a pinpoint. Then, his body pulsed.

Amy's head spun as the wave of energy coming off of Sonic hit her. The Chaos Emerald in her hand sizzled slightly in response. The ground around Sonic started to shake, and pieces of the earth floated up and around him. It took almost all of Amy's concentration just to stay balanced. _'What's happening…?'_

The Chaos Emerald in her hand seemed to pulse faster and faster as the ground shook harder and harder. Then, something clicked in Amy's mind, and as if to confirm her thoughts, she saw the tips of Sonic's quills starting to brighten into a glimmering gold. _'He's turning Super Sonic!'_

The aura around him twisted and flared, and a beam of gold energy radiated off of him, threatening to sweep Amy off her feet. Quickly, she pulled out her hammer, digging the end of it into the ground as the gold light seemed to shimmer and harden. Flying objects missed her by inches, and the green Emerald continued it's pulsing.

There was a huge explosion that knocked Amy back despite her hammer anchoring her. She fell on her face and she could feel the ground scraping it raw. Scrabbling around to face Sonic, all she could see was dirt and rain mixing together in the air. She squinted, and barely managed to make out a silhouette among the destruction.

Suddenly, the silhouette lifted a hand. A golden ball of energy formed there, and Amy, who was straining her eyes to see, was momentarily blinded by it's brilliance. Something caught her by the stomach, and she was knocked back, her body moaning in pain. Her head hit something hard, and she had to fight the urge to faint.

Amy staggered up in time to see Super Sonic emerge from the chaos, his hand smoking slightly. Blood red eyes, like two drops of rubies, stared back at her own. His cuts and wounds were miraculously gone, just like the last time he had transformed. He looked renewed, in perfect shape. "For all the trouble you've caused me," he said, his voice menacing, "You will die a slow death."

Amy pulled out her hammer again with her free hand, the other one still holding onto the Chaos Emerald which had stopped pulsing. She wasn't really paying attention to this though, for she had more worrisome thoughts in her mind. _'How can I do this?' _she thought to herself, already beginning to feel the first effects of doubt mingled with fright. _'I can hardly hold my own against Sonic… but Super Sonic? How do I do this…?' _Even if she could damage Sonic, she knew that she couldn't hurt him too badly. _'I know the real Sonic is in there, and he's coming for me… I have to help him somehow. But I don't know if there's anything that I can do!'_

Another glowing ball of light emerged from Super Sonic's hand. It flew away from him, meeting Amy's hammer head-on. With all her might, straining the muscles in her arms, she managed to bat it away and leaped to the side. The Chaos Emerald in her hand suddenly pulsed again, distracting her. She looked down for a second. _'Again?'_

A gold streak flew past her, warning her just in time as Super Sonic made a U-turn and rocketed towards her. She swung her hammer downwards, intending to knock him out by hitting him on the head.

Super Sonic just looked up slightly. Raising one hand, he easily caught the head of her Piko Piko Hammer with just his fingertips. Amy pushed down with all her strength, but the gold hedgehog managed it easily. Both their eyes met, and he smirked at her sweaty and bruised face. He twitched his hand slightly, and gold light flooded from his hand and into her hammer.

Amy gasped as the light flushed through her hammer, inching towards her hands. Soon, her whole hammer was gold. She looked at Sonic, and he greeted her with a malicious smile. He twitched his hand again, and her whole hammer shattered like the surface of a pond, the pieces still enveloped in light as they fell to the ground. The force of it blew Amy back. She spread her free hand out by instinct to soften her fall, and felt her wrist twist painfully as she landed. The Chaos Emerald fell out of her hands and landed beside her head, and it seemed to pulse at an even more eradicate speed.

The pink hedgehog pushed herself up with her arms, and snatched up the green Chaos Emerald with her good hand before it could be separated from her. Amy blinked as it touched her hand and she felt it's pulsing. She looked around, trying to find what it was reacting to before Sonic could distract her. _'No… it's not him that it's reacting to again. He was right in front of me and it still pulsed slowly.' _She pushed herself up into a standing position, not noticing that Super Sonic was nowhere to be seen. _'But what else in here…' _Then, her eyes rested on the Master Emerald.

It was like some sort of instinct had taken over her body. She could feel the Master Emerald calling the Chaos Emerald in her hand, and the Chaos Emerald was pulling her towards it. Sprinting, she tried to fight the rain and wind as she ran her way towards the giant gem.

"Not so fast…" Super Sonic appeared in front of her, standing in between the way of her and the Master Emerald. Swiftly, he punched her in the face so hard that she could feel her neck snap up, and her body was sent skywards. Flying up, the red-eyed hedgehog grabbed her by the sides and flung her back down, not hard enough to kill her, but hard enough to make her cough up blood.

Weakly, she opened her eyelids. The Master Emerald was so close now that she could almost feel it in her hand. She couldn't get up anymore… she was too tired, and her body felt too weak to support it's own weight. She wasn't going to give up, though. With the Chaos Emerald still in her hand, almost urging her on, she slowly crawled towards the Master Emerald.

"Argh!" She cried out in pain as Super Sonic put his full weight on her. He had her pinned on the ground by the arms, almost threatening to rip them off. He quickly flipped her over so that they were face to face. They were so close that their noses almost touched. It was strange that a long, long time ago, Amy would've given anything to be this close to Sonic… but now, she couldn't think of anything more frightening.

Super Sonic grinned at her, baring his teeth. He couldn't believe that his other side would fall for such a weak creature. He couldn't believe that she was his last obstacle, who didn't even put up much of a fight. There she was… trapped, with nothing to defend herself with.

There was a long silence as the two looked at each other, lost in their own thoughts. The storm still raged on like it was unaware of the two below it, doing what it wanted.

Finally, the pink-quilled girl broke the silence. "So what now?" Amy's voice was so calm and quiet, she even surprised herself. It was like someone else was controlling Amy's body, guiding her as she spoke… but she knew that these were her own words. "What are you going to do after you rid yourself of me? Would you have a purpose to exist any longer?"

The hedgehog in front of her seemed to falter for a moment. For a second, she could see the indecision that crossed his face. "Purpose…?" His face seemed to take on an almost far-off, dreamy look.

Amy blinked. Was she really getting through to him? "Yes, Sonic. You used to have a purpose, remember?" She could feel the grip on her loosen slightly. "You wanted to enjoy life and live it to it's' fullest… remember? You even made others happy… you protected the world, and let others enjoy life too. Remember…?"

Thoughts started to mix in his mind until he couldn't tell one from the other. _'Why does this hedgehog have this effect on me?' _Sonic shook his head, as if trying to clear it. _'A purpose…'_

"My purpose…" he said out loud, his voice strangely emotionless. "My purpose… I… no… No! What are you doing to me…?" He still gripped Amy's shoulders, but his voice was starting to shake now.

Amy extended a hand, resting it on his forehead. "Come on, Sonic," she whispered. "I know you can do it… fight it!"

Super Sonic rose up a hand and caught Amy's. "Amy…" his eyes were watering. "It's… so hard… the path…"

* * *

Sonic was running as fast as he could, but the path before him was starting to break apart. It was getting harder and harder to run on now. His legs felt like led, and the path seemed to slip under him. It was like it was testing him as he got nearer and nearer to the end. Amy's voice echoed in his ears, driving him on. Even the water, which had caressed him so gently earlier, seemed eager to pull him back. 

**_"NO!" _**It was another voice now. A colder, harder voice that roared easily over Amy's. **_"You will go no further!"_**

The path started to crumble under his feet, and soon, they were running on nothing but air. _'No!' _Sonic thought to himself. His hands groped out into the air in front of him, and he managed to hang onto a bit of the road that hadn't crumbled, but he was helpless there, dangling over a black abyss. Amy's whispering voice continued in the back of his mind, and it was all he could do to hang onto to it as desperately as his hands were hanging onto that bit of the path.

* * *

"Come on, Sonic…" Amy was staring at his strained face, her hand still clutched by his. "I'm counting on you!" He seemed to be mumbling to himself, his mouth moving, forming words that only he himself could understand. 

His hold on her suddenly tightened into a vice-like grip. "No…" The sound of his voice was enough to tell her who she was talking to. Her mouth gaped open in horror as his irises darkened into a murky red. "You will not be able to bring him back."

Amy felt her mind jolt. In an attempt to free herself, she wrenched an arm free and punched Sonic in the face, feeling something crack under her fist, but she didn't look back to see what it was. Running off of pure adrenaline now, she pushed herself onto her feet, than rushed out towards the Master Emerald. Her fingers brushed over it's mirror-like surface, and a blinding, green light overtook her.

_"The servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is power… power enriched by the heart…"_

Slowly, the light faded away to a dim glow. Amy put her arm down slowly, not even realizing that she had put it up. She looked around her. Everything was covered in a light hue of yellow, but something even stranger made her gasp loudly into the silence. The rain had stopped – literally. Droplets were frozen in midair, almost like it was hanging off the still wind. She looked up. A lightening bolt had stopped in the sky, making it seem like the clouds were cracking. Amy slowly turned around, surveying the landscape.

Her eyes met the blood-red ones of Sonic, and she almost jumped out of her skin. She scrambled backwards as fast as she could.

_"Don't worry, Amy. He is still held by my Captive Light… but there isn't much time."_

Amy turned around, and was face to face with a glowing ball of light. Suddenly, she remembered something that Sonic had told her about a long time ago… back when he was fighting the Perfect Chaos, back when she herself had saved a family of birds from the hands of Doctor Robotnik. The exact same glowing ball of light had come to her, and to everyone else, but it was Sonic who heard her name. It was the name that left her lips now.

"Tikal?"

The light seemed to shiver, than extend itself. Legs appeared, covered by the form of a tribal skirt with a long, flowing piece of material fluttering out behind her. Feet covered with shoes laced together in an intricate design touched the ground as arms that had a blue and gold bracelet adorning the wrists grew out from a body covered in a simple white cloth. A head slowly emerged, and long, orange dreadlocks wrapped in white cloth reached out to touch the shoulders, framing the echidna's face. Gold tribal jewelry hung around her neck and encircled her head, and long lashes brushed the gold headband lightly. The light faded away, and right before Amy's eyes, an orange echidna stood where the floating ball of light was, cerulean eyes shining with wisdom. A sense of peace and calm radiated off of her. There stood Tikal the Echidna… but was something wrong with her?

"Tikal!" Amy tried to reach out towards her, but Tikal quickly shook her. Amy withdrew her hand, but she remained persistent. "Tikal, what's wrong?"

Tikal looked back at her wearily. She looked so frail… even more frail than usual. Her fur was graying, and there were bald patches where fur and fallen out. Sharp angles appeared on her face that weren't there before, and her cheeks seemed to have collapsed onto themselves. Her clothes looked almost too big for her.

_"Amy… I need to tell you quickly. There isn't much time left…"_

Amy swallowed. "It's… it's the Chaos Emeralds that are making you weak, isn't it?"

Tikal shook her head again, dreadlocks swinging. _"Not really… as Knuckles already told you, the Chaos Emeralds must have a perfect balance of negative and positive Chaos energy," _she began, her voice weak, _"but the Chaos Emeralds aren't the only ones that depend on that balance…" _Raising a hand, Tikal turned around and ran her gloves over the surface of the Master Emerald. _"The Master Emerald itself also needs to have a perfect balance of both energies…"_

Amy was silent as she listened, a little confused at what she was hearing, and wondering why she had to hear this.

_"That spell that Dr. Robotnik used…" _Tikal's voice faltered slightly, weakening a bit more. _"Not only did it drain all of the negative energy out of the Chaos Emeralds, but it also drained that energy from the Master Emerald… and because I myself am sealed within the Master Emerald, I was affected by that spell too. My spirit cannot live inside the Emerald because of the corruption, Amy… eventually, it will wither and die. Chaos…" _Tikal's eyes turned bright with tears as she said the God of Destruction's name. _"Chaos is already beginning to die along with me…"_

Amy blinked, then stepped forward. "Tikal, there has to be a way to stop this, right? Please, tell me. I want to help you… and I have a feeling that it will help Sonic and all my friends as well…"

Tikal smiled through her tears. _"You're a kind girl, Amy, and you have a strong heart… but Amy…" _Her face softened with sadness. _"Amy… your body is very sensitive to Chaos energy… the only way you can help is if you absorb positive Chaos energy, and your body might not be able to contain it all, even if you don't absorb a lot… and…" _Tikal paused, hesitating.

Amy bowed her head low, sensing what she was about to say. "You're saying… I might die in the process, right?" she asked, her voice quiet.

Tikal nodded solemnly. _"Please, Amy. If you don't want to do this, I can completely understand. If I can, I'll try to use a spell to counter Sonic's negative energy with the remaining positive energy in the Emeralds…"_

The hedgehog interrupted her. "But then… wouldn't you and Chaos die?"

Tikal's spirit nodded slowly. _"Yes… we would… but Amy…"_

Amy shook her head, interrupting the echidna. "Tikal, from what I hear, it sounds like the only way to save everyone is if I absorb the Chaos energy. That plan sounds like it will work more than if you "try" to cast that spell." Amy took a deep breath, then continued. "Tikal… if it's going to be my life for the sake of all the others, then I'll gladly do it." Her voice was confident and sure.

Tikal sighed deeply, defeated. She felt so regretful that this young girl, who had such a life spread out ahead of her, was going to throw it all away… but then again, hadn't she done the same thing for Chaos?

Slowly, Tikal's spirit started to disappear. _"Just remember this verse: 'The servers are the Seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart…'" _

Amy closed her eyes, and the verse ran through her mind like a mantra. Her mouth opened, and the ancient verse tumbled out of her mouth like smooth liquid pouring out of a bottle. "The servers… are the Seven Chaos… Chaos is… power… power enriched by the heart…"

_'Power enriched by the heart…' _Unbeknownst to her, the Chaos Emeralds were starting to float slowly up towards her, encircling her in their rainbow of colours… green, yellow, purple, cyan, white, blue, and red, twirling around her as the Master Emerald pulsed in time to her chanting. _'Tikal says I have a strong heart…' _The jewels were pulsing together gently now. There was a bright flash as the Emeralds floated and turned still in midair. Everything froze for the length of a breath… then the energy shot out from all the Emeralds, and collided in the middle at Amy and the Master Emerald.

It was strange this time though. They didn't harm her like the way they had earlier when Eggman used them to shoot a huge beam of energy at her. They flowed into her this time, easily, like the way a river ran into the ocean. She accepted the energy with open arms, yet she had to hold on firmly to prevent it from running wild. The energy caused a thrill to course though her. She felt like she was riding on a young and spirited horse.

Outside around her, the time-stopping spell of Tikal broke.

Super Sonic continued charging when the spell broke. It was like nothing had happened at all. The lightening bolt that had stopped in the sky finished it's course, the rain started falling again, and the wind resumed to leap and tumble. Sonic didn't know that time had just gone against him, so he was surprised when something batted him back when he charged forward.

Regaining his balance, Sonic looked back up. Even he couldn't contain his shock as he gaped at what he was happening before him…

Amy's quills were now a blinding white, shimmering like the way a diamond would when it was held up to the sunlight. Quills that were usually held back by a headband now broke free, and they flowed around her, a bit longer now and reaching down her back, giving her a more elegant look. They curved and spiked up a bit at the end, looking deadly sharp. Her eyes were closed, as if in concentration as the white aura around her flared. If it wasn't for her red dress and boots and the yellow bracelets, she would've been almost unrecognizable.

There was another, smaller flash, and her Piko Piko Hammer appeared in front of her. That too had changed. It was as white as it's mistress, but both the heads, which was usually yellow, was now a cobalt colour. It floated in front of her for a moment… then Amy grabbed the handle with her white gloved hand. The energy started slowing down to a trickle, then stopped altogether. The Chaos Emeralds floated slowly down, weakened, but not completely deprived of energy.

Super Sonic had managed hold his surprise back in, but he couldn't contain his gasp as Amy's transformation completed.

Amy swept her eyes open. They were now a deep, sapphire blue.

* * *

**_A/N: _**Darn it... I couldn't get a new author's note partner, since... 

Metal Sonic: What happened to "no spoilers?"

Azngirchibi: ... ANYWAYS, in case anyone is interested, there's a reason that I chose those colours for Amy's new form (please, no "Super Amy" jokes...) Diamond is supposed to be the gemstone of love and eternity, and sapphires represent true love. So now you know... Oh, and ignore my earlier rantings. I was in a weird mood...

* * *

**Anonymous Reviews:**

**Jacqueline: **Hee hee... thnx.

azngirlchibi


	17. Chapter 17 My Life for Yours

**_A/N: _**Phew! I had to do three versions of this chapter before I was finally satisfied. Writer's block is so annoying...

Anyway, I might or might not put up another chapter for August. Visit my profile for more details. No, actually, even if you don't care, visit it anyways. I re-made the whole thing twice in a day because my computer erased it once. I have a few links to some videos you might like as well, and there's another link for a small, yet huge, spoiler for my next chapter.

Ah, and in this chapter, there's going to be a small reference to Sonic X. Now, before you press the back button, it's really small. Like, it's just one line of dialogue that I quoted. Besides, if any of you noticed, I have been making tiny, tiny references to Sonic X throughout the whole fic, but whenever I do, I usually pretend that the characters they introduced there don't exist (yes, that includes Chris, Uncle Whats-his-face, Cosmo, etc.etc.). Not that I hate them, but I just think they were unnecessary in the show. Except maybe Cosmo... but we'll just ignore that.

* * *

**Age Changes:**

_Sonic: 23_

_Amy: 20_

_Tails: 16_

_Cream: 14_

_Eggman: Unknown_

_Metal Sonic: Unknown_

_Knuckles: 24_

_Rouge: 26_

_Shadow: Older than I'll ever live to be..._

_Vector: 28_

_Espio: 24_

_Charmy: 14_

_Tikal: ... she's a spirit..._

_Chaos: ... he's a water god thingy... _

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I. Don't. Own. Sonic. The. Hedgehog.

* * *

Never before had Amy felt so many emotions assault her at once. Never before had she considered that everything around her – the earth, the rain, the sky, the wind – could truly feel emotions like she could. It was like a dull background music that had always been present, yet never noticed, was starting to play full blast inside her. Amy never thought that the rain felt hurt when it fell to the earth, or that they were really tears from the sky. She never knew that the wind whispered tales as it blew past her ears, or that the thunder echoed loudly when it was angry. Even the Emeralds themselves had feelings, and were alive in their own way. It took all of her willpower to not succumb to all these new senses that flushed through her, and to simply let the whirlwind of emotions whisk her away. 

"It's not as easy as it looks, is it?"

Amy turned her eyes to Super Sonic. He had regained control of his face, but his nose was bleeding freely, probably from Amy's punch earlier. It trickled over his lips and dripped off his chin, but he didn't seem to notice it. Amy felt something flood into her as he stared at him. She could feel the Emeralds grow angry the longer their eyes met, the longer he was standing there… alive. They were angry that this spell had caused their other half to become trapped within this other body, and they were angry that they could not be whole. They were angry that they were dying ever slowly, and their existence in this world may soon cease to exist. Amy had to hold tight onto the anger caused by the Emeralds before it could spread and cloud her better judgment.

Super Sonic flared up his aura again, readying it. "You might have gotten new powers, and the Emeralds might be on your side… but I still overpower you."

Amy narrowed her now sapphire blue eyes. As infuriating as it was to hear him say it, she knew it was true. While Super Sonic had gone and absorbed _all_ negative energy from the Emeralds, she had only absorbed _most_ of the Emeralds' positive energy. And… there was still another thing that tugged at the back of her mind.

_'You're saying that I might die in the process, right?'_

Amy shook her white-quilled head. Now was not the time to be thinking of that… but yet, her heart still pounded when she thought about it. She was afraid… but not for her own life.

_'If it's going to be my life for the sake of all the others, then I'll gladly do it.'_

_'Yes… that's what I said earlier to Tikal. And it was a promise… to Tikal, to my friends, to myself… and to Sonic.'_

She couldn't stop the 'what-ifs' that entered her thoughts though. _'What if I can't stop him? What if he really is too powerful? What if…' _and this was her scariest, most despairing thought; _'What if I die before I can stop him?'_

But there was no time to be thinking about that. Time never seemed more precious to her, never felt like it was speeding past her as quickly as it did now. This was her chance to alter fate, and she had to do it… _now._

She charged; her new speed and new power to fly boosting her forward.

Sonic, seeing this, sped towards his newfound enemy as well.

Auras met and clashed.

_'I can't come back to you when you're not here, can I?'_

The light from the two forces cleared. Amy was bearing down on Sonic using her Piko Piko Hammer. This time, Sonic's face clearly showed that he needed to use effort to keep Amy's attack back. Both of their hands were gripped on the handle of the hammer, trying to overpower each other.

_'Sonic… you were the first person that I've ever truly loved…'_

Amy flinched as the memory washed over her mind. She pushed Sonic back with her foot, and the two of them shot away from each other. Screaming, she attacked. "Storming Hearts!"

Quickly, Sonic countered. "Sonic Wind!"

_'You know, you are quite an annoying, persistent little brat…'_

Pink and blue energy mixed together. Amy clutched the ground as a whirlwind screamed around them, threatening to suck her inside. _'Maybe…' _thought Amy as the whirlwind continued it's course. _'Maybe I would've believed that Sonic really meant it… a long, long time ago…'_

The energy was strong. It tossed the wind around like a child with a new toy. As it spun, Amy felt like it was sucking out memories from her, forcing her to watch every single one as it ran through her mind.

_'Sonic is like the wind…' _She heard her innocent, twelve-year old voice say,_ 'and I am just a petal, blown around by the wind.'_

A figure was running through the whirlwind and rushing towards her.

_'You should've given up a long time ago, before you lost the chance!'_

Gold quills burst through the storm, dispersing it as it continued its' destructive path.

_'Amy… let me protect you.'_

It uncurled, and Super Sonic lashed out with a powerful kick. Amy blocked it with her hammer, knocking it out of the way. Suddenly, she found herself face to face with Sonic.

_'Amy… just promise me you'll let me protect you…'_

Their eyes locked. Amy stared, enraptured for a moment. She peered hard into them, as if she was searching for something. Was this the same Sonic that had wanted to protect her? Was this the same Sonic that she would give up her life for?

_'No,' _a voice inside her answered, truthfully. _'No, this isn't the Sonic who lives in your dreams, who you devoted your life to…'_

_'This is an entirely different monster. It lives in you darkest nightmares… and is someone you are willing to throw away your life for…'_

Red eyes flickered.

_'Come back…'_

The Emeralds flashed a dim, fluorescent glow, responding to what her thoughts screamed, and to what her heart yearned for.

Gold dust sparked in her hands. A powdery gold orb took form and floated just above her fingers. Amy could feel a tiny strand of energy leave her as the orb grew brighter. By instinct, she held it up to her lips, and blew it into Sonic's face.

Her breath carried it easily. It swirled like snow during a blizzard, but as it touched Sonic's skin, he screamed aloud in pain. Still screaming in agony, he held two hands under her belly, and a beam of light streaked out, hitting her in the stomach. Amy was thrown back, but she easily landed on her feet again. The attack had been weak, barely leaving her with a slight scorch mark on her dress. _'What's wrong with him?' _she wondered. _'He could've killed me…'_

She turned her eyes to Sonic. He was on the ground, gasping in obvious pain and covering his face. Amy could see no visible marks that she had damaged him though.

Then suddenly, Amy saw something. Was she imagining it? Or did she just see…

Amy flew at Sonic again, just as he was struggling to get up. He tried to fly away as he saw her, but she hit him with her hammer, knocking him down again. He had no time to block her next attack, as she summoned another powdery ball of Chaos energy. Again, she felt the same sensation of energy leaking out of her and into her hand. Once again, she blew onto the energy, and it touched his skin.

She was knocked back again by a powerful kick that left her with a painful bruise, but she didn't care. She was sure of it this time… The gold energy that she had blown onto him had turned black as soon as it touched him, which then beamed itself towards the Chaos Emeralds. The positive Chaos energy that she was blowing into him was forcing out the negative Chaos energy! And now… it was returning to its' rightful place – inside the Emeralds.

As if he had suddenly found out what she was doing, a look of fright shadowed over Sonic's face. A strange sense of understanding passed over Amy. _'Who would've known that even Sonic's negative side could feel fear as well?'_

The fright on his face quickly shifted into anger. He stood up, a bit shakily, looking weakened. His face contorted horribly as it kept switching between fury and anguish. "Amy…" The girl didn't know if she should feel smug or disgusted that he finally used her actual name. "Amy… you will pay with your life!" He charged towards her, his fury obviously mounting dangerously higher.

Amy swung out with her hammer, but Sonic just disappeared easily. He re-appeared beside her, hitting her hard with a fist on her cheek. She was thrown back, but using her hammer, she vaulted back up and towards Sonic, trying to smack him with her hammer. Again, he disappeared, but Amy was ready for it this time. She disappeared as well, and Sonic was left spin-dashing into nothing but air.

He uncurled, then turned around and caught Amy's foot as she re-appeared. His other hand rose up, blocking Amy's hammer as she swung it down on him. He bared his teeth menacingly at her as she pushed down with all her might.

Sonic suddenly took his hand off Amy's foot, surprising her, and used both to grab the head of the hammer. He started spinning at dizzying speeds, and Amy had to hold on for her life as Sonic tried to fling her off.

Her hands started slipping, little by little, and despite her efforts, she was thrown off like a rider from her horse. She crashed into a broken computer screen, landing on the sharp shards of glass. As Amy tried to get up, something hard hit her on the arm, and she heard an ominous cracking sound and a searing, white-hot pain started spreading from it. She blinked away white spots that bursted before her eyes. She tried to move her arm, but it dangled uselessly beside her. Gulping in huge gasps of air, she ignored the pain and got up. Her bright white hammer was beside her now. That was what had hit her arm.

She picked up her hammer with her left hand. She got out from the computer, the sharp pieces of glass, now stained red by her blood, crunching beneath her feet.

A frustrated growl met her ears. She saw Sonic's eyes briefly flash towards her broken arm, then back at her face again.

"Why won't you just die?" he screamed at her. His voiced sounded almost hysterical… and was there a hint of a plea? But Amy had no more time to think. He was flying at her again, his eyes wild with an angry, raging fire.

Amy flew up away from him, but Sonic was still faster than her. Soon, there became nothing but bright flashes, even brighter than the lightening as the two fought too fast for the eye to see, so bright that even the shadows shrank away from them. Energy rolled of them in waves.

The wind stung Amy's eyes, forcing out tears. She was doing her best to block as many attacks as possible, but Sonic was able to land many on her. Her body convulsed as Sonic gave her a particularly powerful punch that almost sent her to her knees. She tried to retaliate, but he flew away, out of her reach, then flashing towards her again to hit her.

Super Sonic powered up a beam of energy, than sent it streaking towards her. She held up her hands, catching it, but she was forced to land onto solid ground. The energy kept forcing itself into her, and she found that trying to absorb it felt like someone had impaled her with a sword.

She couldn't hold on any longer. The beam of energy broke through her hands, hitting her hard, and she was thrown back like someone had launched her. Amy heard another sickening _crack_, then something wet trickle from her collarbone. She placed a hand there, but it felt like a lightening bolt was shooting through her body. Then, before she could get up, Sonic was attacking her again.

Amy stifled another wave of pain as Sonic hit her already shattered collarbone with another kick. The odds weren't good. She now had a broken arm, a broken and bleeding collarbone, and slight cuts all over her body. Amy managed to give Sonic a few solid whacks from her hammer and a few kicks of her own, but he was not as badly hurt as she was, nor was he breathing quite as hard. But he wasn't hesitant to hurt her. She, on the other hand, didn't want to hurt him.

_'I… have to slow him down… somehow…' _But what could slow down the fastest creature alive? What could she possibly…

Then, the idea struck her as hard as another of Sonic's punches that landed on her. Without stopping her dodging, she gathered up her energy, and shouted, "Amy Flash!"

A bright pink flash exploded from her.

Slowly, it faded into nothing but the softest glow. Amy rubbed her eyes with her good hand in surprise. The lightest hue of pink surrounded almost everything in an almost force field-like dome. A strange hum seemed to be the only thing that rang in the air. Rain fell down normally until it hit her pink dome. As soon as they penetrated its' surface, they stopped abruptly like a tape put on pause.

_'But… where's Sonic?'_

Amy looked around her in panic. Sonic was no where to be seen. It was like he was simply erased from her sight. Did she do something wrong? Did she… _'Did I kill Sonic?' _Her breath caught in her throat. Suddenly, it felt like the pink aura had seeped itself into her heart and stopped that too.

There was another bright flash that almost blinded Amy. She shut her eyes, but she might as well not have for all the good it did. The light seemed to burn through her eyelids, sending them sharp, stabbing pains. She tried to raise a hand to rub them.

Suddenly, her hand was jerked away, and the light dimmed slightly. She cracked open her eyes, squinting and trying to regain control of her hand, but someone was holding tightly onto it. She tried to open her mouth in protest, but her voice stopped halfway through her mouth. It hung open in a voiceless scream.

Amy hadn't done anything wrong. Her attack had worked perfectly, but Sonic had put up a gold energy shield around himself. The pink aura that covered everything around them seemed to try to touch him, but shrank away like it had been scalded when it brushed the golden shield. His eyes weren't just wild anymore… they were maniacal, and the hint of the old bloodlust she had seen there had returned.

Sonic jerked her hand hard again, relishing her muffled shout of protest. Grabbing both of her arms, he slammed her onto a wall.

His breath, smelling of iron from blood, brushed her face as he breathed. He was panting a little, but his firm grip on her smothered any possibility of escape from Amy's mind. He had many bruises on his body, and there was a cut over his left eye that was slowly weeping blood. He twisted her hand the wrong way, hard. She could feel it go to the verge of cracking, and her fingers went rigid with numbing pain, releasing her hammer.

"I win," he whispered, sending icy chills through her body.

"No," she said desperately, even though a dark part of her mind secretly agreed. She trashed and flailed, trying to wriggle out of his hold, but her efforts were futile. "I won't let you…"

"Won't let me?" Sonic laughed as Amy continued to struggle. "You don't have a choice! You should've given up a long time ago… before you lost the chance!"

Amy stopped struggling as sudden hurt surged through her. Not the type of hurt her body was feeling right now as blood seeped from her wounds. She felt as if something as hot as a coal was dropped on her heart. Metal Sonic had told her the same thing… _give up. _But it was old pain. Old pain that she had surpassed, that no longer felt like a wild forest fire that trapped her like a helpless animal. It had burned down to a coal… nothing but a coal that would some day turn to ashes. _'I won't let it stop me anymore… I won't! _

Amy suddenly looked up fiercely at Sonic. He looked taken aback by her sudden change in attitude. Why wasn't she struggling for her life anymore?

"Sonic… I lost the chance the moment I saw you…"

"I lost the chance… when I fell in love with you."

Something inside her felt like it opened up. Energy poured out of her and into Sonic. The small trickle that had left her body suddenly turned into a roaring, raging waterfall that broke free from her holds. She let it ravage through her body, ignoring the way that pain ate away at her body, ignoring the way images around her were starting to blur. She barely registered a shout from Sonic as his body started to convulse. His hands seemed stuck on her, unable to let go. Something black was rushing out of his body and into the Emeralds, and this sight pressed her on even more. She gathered up every bit of energy from inside her and it tumbled eagerly through her body and into Sonic's like an overcrowded train station. A roaring was starting to fill her ears until she couldn't feel the pain anymore. She realized that she was killing herself, but she didn't care. She was doing this for Sonic. If she could bring Sonic back, then that was all she cared about. Her heart was starting to race very quickly, and her eyes weren't able to see anymore. Something was driving her away from her body, but energy was still emptying from her body like she was bailing water out of a boat at high speed.

A black cloud started to snake it's way to her eyes, colouring the everlasting white into an impenetrable black. She felt something jolt from under her like she had missed a step going down the stairs and had started falling, fast. She knew now… she was going to die. But she had saved Sonic, and that was all that mattered. She didn't know how she knew… she just did. Tears poured forth from her face as she thought of him. She knew that he would always be in her memories… but even she knew that it wasn't going to be the same. She would never be held by him again. She would never hear his voice again, or be saved by him again. Even Sonic couldn't outrun death… could he?

She suddenly felt exhausted, like she had just been running all day, and the dark, black abyss she was falling into suddenly felt welcoming, like soft and downy fluff. A luxurious sigh escaped her lips.

* * *

_'It's better this way…'

* * *

_

Sonic gave a start. Did he just hear those words? And why did they make him feel so cold? Why did he feel like he had just dived into icy, freezing water?

_'Did something happen to Amy?' _And it was as if the thought gave him renewed strength. With all his might, he swung his other arm up so that he was clutching onto the ledge with both hands. He struggled to get up on them, but it was too slippery, and he was too cold. _'Why do I feel so cold?'_

_**"She's dead!"**_

Sonic almost let go of the ledge. He looked up to see his counterpart, sneering down at him, but looking weak. His form flickered with every step he took, his eyes bloodshot and yellowed.

**_"She's dead!" _**he said again, as if making sure that Sonic could hear him.

Sonic gritted his teeth together, making a nasty grinding sound. _"I'm not going to fall for another one of your mind games!"_

His looming figure gave him a look of disdain. **_"For once, it isn't me, though I would've loved to kill her myself…"_**

Sonic shook his head forcibly. _"You won't trick me again! I'm coming back to Amy, and you can't stop me!'_

He was met with a dangerous looking smirk. **_"I don't have to stop you. You have no one to go back to…"_**

Sonic glared at him hatefully. _"Get out of my way!"_

The smirk grew even larger. **_"No… I'm taking you both down with me!"_**

Before Sonic could ask what he was talking about, a foot started coming down towards his hand. Sonic held up one hand, catching the foot, then pushed it back up, causing a loud _thunk _to sound loudly around them. With all his might, Sonic pulled himself up onto the path, his legs wobbling a bit as he landed onto solid ground.

Both Sonics got up, almost mirroring each other's moves. **_"Believe it, she's dead! Why else would I be here?"_**

_"So you can play some more mind games with me, that's why!" _Sonic retorted back. Amy promised that she would be there, waiting for him, and she wouldn't break a promise like that! And he definitely wasn't going to let this monster stand in his way of keeping _his _promise either! _"Now get out of my way!"_

Sonic spin-dashed into him, but surprisingly, he went right through his other self. He skidded to a halt, staring in surprise.

**_"See what I mean?" _**Laughter followed, echoing in the water. **_"That girl killed herself to try to kill me! I might be dying, but she's dead too!" _**More drunken laughter issued from his mouth, and Sonic looked at him in disgust.

_'It's better this way…'_

Once again, the cold, freezing feeling flooded into him. _'No…' _he felt like his stomach dropped out of his body in his fear. _'Amy promised… she promised…'_

Then, he turned around, running faster than ever along the path, the laughter following behind him. _'He's lying…'_

But once again, those four words rang though his mind.

_'It's better this way…'_

_'Amy, you promised!' _He shook his head furiously as tears started to make their way to his eyes. _'No, there's no need for tears. Amy promised… she promised me that she'd be there!'_

Running… nothing but the path stretched out before him. He blocked all other thoughts, except running… running to Amy.

_'It's better this way…'_

A black hole appeared suddenly out of no where but he didn't stop… he just kept running. Soon, it swallowed him whole and he was rising up like he was flying.

_'It's better this way…'

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**_A/N: _**... I can't really say anything right now without revealing things for the next chapter. But visit my profile if you really want to know that badly. 'Till next time...

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**Anonymous Reviews:**

**DeniedLuv: **Yeah, they should make Amy have that ability! Though I agree, it would be creepy. And she wouldn't be the maiden in distress as much. Though I do think Sega makes her look too weak... thnx for reading!

**rebecca wong: **You know, **Youhyun, **if I didn't know any better, I'd think that youjust want your name up. Yeah, if any one is reading this, she's the birthday girl, who rudely used someone else's name to cover up for her own. And after I so generously said "Happy B-day" too. Hmph...

**azngirlchibi's little brother: **... Wow... you're actually reading this. Meh, at least you're nicer than some people (coughs)

**azngirlchibi's friend: **Did you just want your name up twice? Fine, here you go: **Youhyun. **Happy? And it's in bold too!

**jacqueline: **Yep, here you go! Thnx for reading!

**kyle andrews: **Hmm... well, germs do regenerate themselves, and multiply (wink wink). It's a start lol. P.S stands for "post-script." But P.S.S is really supposed to be P.P.S, meaning "post-post-script." So now you know... thnx for reviewing!

azngirlchibi


	18. Chapter 18 Contaminated

**_A/N: _**Yeesh, I hope you guys don't mind the substitute page break I had to put in. My new computer won't allow me to put them in for some reason... Anyway, here's the next chapter (finally!). It was also my birthday on Monday, so I'm finally "insert age here"! Also, I have reason to believe that one of you reviewers actually go to my school! OO Scary...

On a not-so-happy note, I decided to kill my idea for a sequel (I bet some of you are thinking, "Huh? She was going to write a sequel?"). I wanted to... but seriously, I wouldn't know what to write it about. "The return of the evil Sonic" just seems too predictable, and so does "Now Amy must face her dark side as well." Heh... sorry guys. But I promise you, I will end this fic with a bang! Well... it will have a good ending, at least.

On a completely different note, I have joined the "Sonic Fusion Project," and I recommend that any of you who are interested in working together with other writers to create a Sonic the Hedgehog fic to join it too! You get a month to write your part of the chapter, so it shouldn't be too fast for any of you or anything. The link for it is this: http/ Paste it into your browser if the link doesn't work... or just go onto the "forums" section of and look for "Sonic Fusion Project." Simple enough, no? More info will find their way towards you there...

Enjoy!

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_**Disclaimer: **Hey, I just found out that I can copy/paste the rulars in! Err... scratch out what I said earlier... I'm too lazy to erase it. Anyway, I would've wished to own Sonic the Hedgehog on my birthday cake... but I kinda didn't get one (sigh). Oh well..._

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Sonic was soaked. His quills, his fur, his very skin felt waterlogged, like he had just jumped into a lake. But that was impossible… he hated water, and he couldn't swim. So why was he so wet?

Something was falling onto his face, like the gentle tapping of many fingers. Unconsciously, he tried to wave them away, his eyes still closed. _'Go away,' _he thought. _'I'm too tired… Just a few more minutes…'_

The tapping persisted, as if determined to awaken him. Slowly, reluctantly, he opened his bleary eyes.

A dim, pulsating light greeted him. It seemed to constantly change colours before his eyes, each shade more appealing than the last. _'Green, yellow, purple, white, blue, red, cyan…'_

_'Those colours… they're familiar…'_

The colours were separating into soft, glowing lights, and they became fireflies, dancing and swirling around him…

_'The Emeralds?'_

The colours defined themselves and stopped spinning as Sonic's eyes focused. The soft light of the Emeralds dappled his quills in a cloak of colours, while winking and twinkling dimly at him.

Slowly, he rolled over on his back. _'What happened to me?' _he asked himself, his mind blurred. Storm clouds were still rumbling and spilling rain onto his face overhead, but patches of stars were starting to show through a curtain of the deepest velvet black. The moon faded in and out as the clouds rode the wind by it's whitish light, as if it just dared… only just dared to peek out from behind it's hiding place.

_'Wet… I'm wet because of the rain…' _Fragments and pieces were slowly forming together in his mind. _'But I'm warm… why am I warm?' _

A dull ache hammered at the back of his skull. _'Rain's supposed to be cold… cold, right? Not warm… no, not warm…'_

A sudden, gentle breeze brushed past his nose, carrying a strange scent with it. _'No… it's not… really strange, is it? I smelled it before…'_

His muscles were starting to tingle. He hadn't realized that they had lost all feeling in them… except the fact that he could feel warmth. As if moving of their own accord, his arms started pushing him into a sitting position.

_'No… no, I don't want to get up…' _Why was his mind trying so hard to resist his body? Why didn't he want to get up? It was like he knew… even if he didn't know? Was that possible? _'No, don't let me get up…' _What was this strange, almost animalistic urge to fall asleep again?

Something was starting to creep into his field of vision. _'Red… red… blood?' _As if to confirm his thoughts, a blast of wind hit his face, assaulting his nose with the scent of iron.

_'Blood? Where did all this come from?' _His eyes followed the trail of blood that sparkled in the moonlight.

Tails.

Before his mind could even register what his body was doing, he was by the fox's side.

"Tails!" he shouted, shaking the young fox. A mangled face, burned judging by the acrid smell coming off his body. The only way that Sonic would've been able to identify him was by his namesakes hanging limply beside him.

_'Please… please…' _"No… Tails…" Sonic moaned. "Tails, it's me, Sonic! Please…" His best friend… he couldn't believe it. His best friend!

The pool of blood he was lying in branched off, and Sonic found himself helplessly hypnotized by it. The trail led his eyes once again to someone else.

"Knuckles!"

Abandoning Tails for the moment, Sonic slipped and slid in the rain and blood towards his other friend and rival.

"Knuckles… Knuckles!" No one answered him but silence. Another pool of blood was surrounding his friend's dreadlocks like a pillow, his arms gripped tightly around Rouge. To his horror, there was a small hole in her back, adding to the disgusting sight. Dizzy, he stumbled back, tripping over something and landing on his back.

"Ugh…" Sonic pushed himself painfully back up. Whatever he had tripped over was now buried inside his left sneaker, and he reached down to pull it out.

_'A leaf?' _It was rather large, fitting snugly into his hand. He turned it around, and a glinting metal knife flashed silver in his palm.

A splash rippled in the air as Sonic dropped it in surprise into a large crater that was collecting rainwater. Slowly, he peered into it.

There was a pile in the middle, like a tiny island. Shapes were toppled haphazardly on top of one another to form it. The slightest tinge of red circled the island like a shark closing in on it's prey.

Against his will, Sonic's legs started splashing through the water, soaking his legs once more. They drew him closer and closer to the lonely island.

He saw that the island was three people piled on top of each other, like someone had left them lying there. Vector was on the bottom, his tough, green scales clashing with those of Espio's. Charmy was on top of him, his head resting on the chameleon's stomach like a cushion.

Had the water turned into a wave and push him back out? Sonic couldn't remember how he had gotten out of that crater… all he could remember was the sensation of not being able to breathe.

Two forms were visible to his left, and his body forced him towards them.

Cream… there was Cream, with her body twisted into a strange formation, like she had caved in onto herself. Her head was slumped forwards, forehead resting on her knees, rabbit ears flopped every which-way.

And… and… an ebony black form. Sonic's stomach lurched. Shadow's eyes were wide open and unseeing, but they stared back at Sonic's all the same. They were dull and bloodshot, with no stirring of emotion within.

_'No… no…' _his fingernails dug into his palms, as if desperate to hold himself together. _'My friends… my friends… no…'_

He would've collapsed then and there… and he almost did. But a snide voice sounded in his mind.

_'Turn around… turn around…'_

His legs started to move…

_'No… stop! No…'_

Did nothing listen to him anymore? His mind was completely ignored, though it shouted desperately, pleaded, begged…

_'Turn around… turn around… and see…'_

A small, slight figure was lying there on the ground. Her quills were flushed a sickly, unhealthy pink, with blood… more of that accursed blood… surrounding her…

Amy.

_'Not… her…'_

Why wasn't her running towards her? Why wasn't he holding her in his arms… telling her everything was going to be all right?

Because nothing was alright. Everything was wrong… so wrong!

There was a figure beside her… but who else was left? Hesitantly, trying to ignore the jolt of revulsion, he crept a bit closer…

An imprint… of him, in Amy's blood. Sonic reached almost mechanically for the back of his quills, then drew his hand back, staring at it.

Red.

Her blood had kept him warm.

An overwhelming urge to vomit swept over him. He staggered back, swaying alarmingly on the spot. _'Wrong… wrong! Everything is wrong!'_

He felt so… _contaminated! _Faint echoes of screams assaulted his memories, the power that had once coursed through him drifted hazily through his veins, and the feeling of blood on his hands was still fresh.

_Contaminated._

Amy's form still lay there, looking peaceful. He had almost no doubt… no doubt at all that it was her who had saved him. Who else had a heart as big as hers? Who else would've sacrificed their life… just for him?

_'Just… for me. She's dead… because of me.'_

Her body seemed to radiate with some sort of strange energy, even when she wasn't up… wasn't alive. It beckoned him… called him… but he couldn't take another step closer to her.

_'You broke your promise… you broke it!'_

And the tears really did start falling from his eyes. He cried… cried for his friends, cried for the girl who had sacrificed her life for his. Cried for the girl that he now both loved… and hated.

_'It's better this way…'_

_'Better?' _Hot angry tears dripped down his face as he continued staring at her form. _'Why didn't you wait for me? Did you think that I would have a better life without you? Did you think that… that I could **have** a life… without you?'_

Why had she condemned him like this? Why had she left him so carelessly?

Why couldn't it just have been him?

_'Tails… Knuckles… Shadow… The Chaotix… and… Amy.'_

He felt so angry! It was such a strange feeling… he felt so powerful, yet so weak. Bitterness swept through him like a hurricane. And regret. And about a thousand more feelings that he had never experienced before.

_'Amy…'_

_A flash of her face… smiling up happily at him…_

_'…why did you do this?'_

_Now he was sick with worry because she was still stuck somewhere in Prison Island…_

_'Damn…'_

_Sonic was feeling so proud… because she had just protected a robot from being destroyed by him… she had stuck up for herself!…'_

_'…damn…'_

_'"Sonic is like the wind… and I am just a petal, blown around by the wind…"'_

_'…damn!'_

His body screamed for him to run to her, screamed for him to hold her, help her, tell her all those things that he never had the chance to say. Had he told her that he cared? That he didn't mean it all those times that he had run away? That he… really actually did… love her?

But what was the point when she might not be able to hear him anymore?

_Contaminated…_

The rain kept falling around him, though it was starting to lessen. How dare the sky end it's mourning just when another life had been taken?

The rain seemed to just ignore him and his thoughts. The various craters around him – remnants of the battle – stared filling with the sky's tears.

Water… crystal clear, cleansing water…

Before he knew it, he was in front of one of those large pools. He found himself wondering… the water wasn't very deep, probably only reaching his waist. Would it cleanse him? Would it feel as warm as the water that had surrounded him when he was in that strange world with Amy's presence swirling around him?

Suddenly, he was inside that pool of water. It was chilly, making his body shiver uncontrollably. But the urge to clean himself was just too strong.

He started attacking his quills, rubbing them over and over again in the water, trying to rid them of Amy's blood. He scrapped right down to his scalp, rubbing it raw, yet he still kept going. Blood started washing away from him, joining the water and not knowing it's fate. Soon, he was rubbing his arms, his chest, as if trying to peel his own skin off.

_'Why… won't… it… come… off?'_

He didn't know exactly what he wanted washed off… not at all. He growled in frustration as the feeling stayed on him like dirt.

"Argh!" He screamed, slamming his fists into the water and causing a small wave to distort his reflection. "Damn it! Damn it all!"

If the blue hedgehog could, he would've torn his own heart out to stop it from hurting so badly.

A sudden, strong gust of wind pushed the water in the crater into a small wave. It crashed lightly into him, but Sonic didn't even try to resist it. The wave threw him out, and he landed on the ground.

He wanted to lie there forever, his face down in the dirt. Maybe it would be easier to just die like this… but no. His face was forcing himself up… and once again, he found himself staring at Amy's form.

He swore loudly, uncaringly. What wouldn't he give for Amy to just stand up again… and walk towards him right now? What wouldn't he give? Even his own life…

When had he gotten here? Amy's body was suddenly right in front of him, like he had just walked through a dream. He turned around and saw the wet footsteps leading to where he was now standing. He swore again. Turning back towards Amy's body, it seemed to just lie there innocently, taunting him. Why couldn't he touch her? Didn't he want her back?

It was like watching a movie playing before him, yet he was a part of it. His arms were slowly encircling themselves around her body, lifting her up… holding her close. He buried his face into her neck; taking in her sweet scent, feeling her soft fur on his… and it was like reality suddenly hit him with a powerful vengeance. _'She's gone… she's really, really gone…' _He let another sob escape him, and tightened his arms around her possessively. A mantra seemed to be chanting in his mind. _'Gone… gone… gone…'_

Sonic collapsed onto his knees, even though she felt as light as a feather.

_'Gone!'_

_"You really love her, don't you?"_

Sonic snapped his head sharply up, and he turned around. A glowing ball of light was floating out of the Master Emerald, as bright as a small sun.

Sonic turned away from it. "Tikal…"

The orange light landed in front of him, and it rested itself on Amy's forehead. A voice started talking to him, but it wasn't coming from the light. It sounded like it was inside his very mind.

"_So it all came down to this…"_

Sonic growled, then swept his hands on Amy's bangs, as if trying to brush Tikal away. But being a spirit, his hand went right through her.

"Look!" Sonic shouted at her, causing her form to shiver. "Just… just… go away…" he finished in a whisper.

The light got off of Amy, but it started swirling around in the air dizzyingly. _"The Emeralds can feel your pain, Sonic…"_

Sonic snorted in mirth. "Great. The _Emeralds _feel my pain. That makes me feel a lot better." He didn't even care how cold he sounded. His world felt like it was being shattered again and again… felt like it would never stop shattering.

Tikal was silent for a moment, and Sonic turned away from her. Then, she said in a soft voice, _"They're not dead, you know."_

Sonic's eyes widened and he snapped back towards her. He swallowed hard, afraid of disappointment. "But… how? He… it… that thing…" Suddenly, he sighed. "_I… _killed them all…"

Tikal's light brightened into a sharp glow. _"Sonic… you need to understand that that was not you."_

Sonic stood up abruptly, still holding Amy's body in his arms. Tikal flew off from her spot on Amy's forehead in apparent surprise. "What are you talking about?" he shouted at her. "Of course it was me! You weren't… you never had to face yourself! You don't know what it's like… to be trapped inside your own mind, feeling yourself do those things to your friends… to Amy! You don't know what it's like!"

The glowing ball of light seemed to grow brighter and brighter, until it almost blinded Sonic to be looking at it. Then, as if it was calming itself, the light dimmed to the softest glow. _"You're right, Sonic. I never had to face the nightmare that you went through… but I still had to stand aside and watch my friends… my only friends… die at the hands of my own father."_

Sonic calmed down for a moment. The quills that had bristled up in his anger settled themselves back onto his body. It looked like he was contemplating what Tikal had said.

_"Look, Sonic…" _The said hedgehog looked back up again at the spirit. _"Do you want to know how your friends can still be alive?" _

Sonic nodded, almost eagerly.

Tikal sighed. _"Well… it seems that even your other side can still harbor some feeling of pity in his heart…"_

Sonic looked confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Tikal settled herself on Amy's forehead again. _"I mean that you have a strong will. You should not have had those moments when your true self resurfaced when your other side had taken over. Your will influenced your other side, Sonic. It gave him feelings which he should not have been able to feel, even if it was just pity. He could've killed all your friends in a heartbeat…'_

"… but he didn't because he wanted to toy with them," said Sonic dully. He felt his last few grains of hope wash away.

The echidna's light flared up, and her voice sounded pleadingly in his mind. _"No, Sonic. That's not how the spell works. He should've wanted to kill… to just kill and cause as much bloodshed as he could. But he didn't… he could feel your will calling, and it instilled feelings of pity into him. He left your friends alive… on the brink of death, yes, but alive all the same."_

Sonic looked up, hope flaring like wildfire through him once again. "So… I can bring them back? They're not dead? I… I can even bring Amy back?"

Tikal answered him, but she seemed hesitant. _"Well… the others should be able to be brought back… but Amy…"_

Sonic's eyes flashed with fear. "Amy…?"

"_It seems that absorbing Chaos Energy to save you was too much for her body. Saving her might just kill you, and even then she might not be brought back…"_

The blue hedgehog's emerald eyes stared steadily at Tikal's light. "I don't care. I _will _bring her back… I'll bring them all back."

The orange echidna sounded hesitant again. _"So… you know what to do?"_

Sonic nodded.

Tikal was now starting to fade away. _"Then you must hurry. Amy is already starting to enter Death's door…and not even the Emeralds have any control over Death…"_

Then, she was gone. She had left Sonic all alone in the rain, but he knew what he had to do.

The moon was now low in the sky, and the stars seemed to dim. The clouds stilled themselves... watching…

The Emeralds started flying towards Sonic, as if attracted to his silent call. They started surrounding him, and he gathered their energy.

Energy… positive Chaos Energy started to flow into his veins, nourishing his tired body and exhausted soul. It flowed warmly into his body as if he had sunk into a warm bath. Gold started to stain blue, rich green turning into powerful red. His feet were lifted a couple of inches off the ground like a giant hand had taken him and was holding him up by the collar. There was no harsh beam of light that completed his transformation, no usual burst of power. The light was now soft… calming…

Slowly, slowly, he fell back gently on his feet. He put Amy carefully and with unusual tenderness on the ground. He felt himself draw more energy from the Emeralds, watching as it formed into a bright, gold orb that he cradled in his hands. He lifted it until it was directly over Amy's heart… and then he swung it down, pushing the light into her chest.

Gold threads started branching out away from Amy, crisscrossing each other like a huge spider web. The threads sparkled and shone like glistening dew, stretching out and reaching all eight forms. It wrapped itself around them, encasing them in a gold shell. They were each lifted up, and if someone could see through that solid wall of gold, they would see that all their wounds were healing, mending themselves back together.

Sonic, however, couldn't see any of this. Chaos Regeneration spent a lot of his energy, and healing so many people at the same time threw his body beyond pain. He was swirling around and around in a world of blackness, where all his friend's last thoughts were attacking him, drawing away before he could strike back…

'_Sorry…'_

Was that Shadow? But before he could figure that out, the memory was swept away, replaced by another…

"_Maybe… maybe I am weaker than Sonic…"_

'_No, no you're not, Knuckles,' _he wanted to say so badly… but he didn't even get the chance…

"_Let's just say, if I had to give my most precious jewel a name, I would name it Knuckles…"_

He couldn't help but smile as Rouge's voice resonated through his mind. He remembered those times… when they all had talked about Rouge's feelings…

_"Only… one… chance…"_

Wasn't that Espio's voice? What did he mean, 'only one chance?'

_"I can't… I can't kill Sonic… but yet…"_

_'Yet what? What, Tails? What?' _

_"Someone… anyone! Please, help me!"_

Cream… he couldn't believe he would do something like that…

_"It's better this way…"_

Sound, colours, light, dark, happiness, sadness, confusion…

_Thump!_

Sonic felt something inside him jolt. Was it surprise? Fear?

He opened his eyes… or did he? If he had, why was it so… dark? Well… not exactly dark. He looked down at his body. _'If it's dark, then how come I can see my body?'_

Something shone brightly ahead of him, and a strong scent of strawberries flowed towards him, along with a happy but calming aura.

_'Amy…'_

He started running, focusing on nothing but the speck of pink ahead of him. It seemed to shine… was she a ghost? Did that mean he was too late? He ran even faster, but it felt like it took forever for his legs to move. He couldn't cut smoothly through the air… but was it because there _was_ no air? Then how could he breathe? How could he think?

_'No time to wonder,' _Sonic decided.

Then, as if it was waiting for him to answer a riddle, a door appeared out of no where. Sonic screeched to a halt. It was enormous, reaching towards some ceiling he couldn't see… maybe even stretching on forever. It was wide as well, seeming to reach into oblivion. Probably because he _was _in oblivion. It was plain, maybe made out of wood, with no carving, no indentation in it whatsoever. Not even a handle… like it would close, and stay closed forever.

The strawberry scent broke him out of his thoughts, and Sonic looked wildly around.

_"Amy!" _he called.

The door in front of him suddenly flew open like it was answering to a password. Peering into it, Sonic saw… nothing. Nothing but a blank, white room. Hesitantly, Sonic started walking forwards… but then, as if struck, he leapt backwards. He felt something vibrate through him, like a warning… but something even more than that. For some reason, he knew that he _didn't _want to go in there, and that he _didn't _want Amy to go in either.

_"Sonic?"_

Sonic spun around on his heel, and came face to face with Amy.

_"Amy!" _He flung his arms around her, holding her tightly. _"Amy… I thought I was too late…"_

Amy's arms went around his neck, and he could feel them rubbing his back soothingly. Without even realizing it, he started snuggling into her fur. _"What do you mean?" _asked Amy, her voice sounding a little confused.

Sonic drew back, holding Amy at arm's length. _"What are you talking about? I'm taking you back, Ames! I thought… I thought you were… dead…"_

_"… Oh…" _Amy suddenly looked away from him. Was he imagining it… or did Amy look… guilty?

_"What's wrong, Amy?" _He tucked his fingers under her chin and brought it up, but her eyes still didn't quite meet his.

_"…" _She was silent for a second. Her face took on a pained look, like she was fighting with herself.

_"I'm… sorry, Sonic. I have to go."_

_"What?" _

Sonic tightened his hand on Amy's shoulder. _"But… but you can't! You're not… dead yet!"_

_"Please, Sonic…" _Amy now looked up, meeting Sonic's eyes. Sonic blinked as he saw her eyes, how they seemed to be drowned in sorrow. _"I'm too far gone to go back to my body. I can't… I just… can't!"_

_"Can't?" _Sonic eyes burned with a determination that broke Amy's heart. _"Well, you know what?" _he pulled her closer, until his lips were right beside her ears. _"I can't live without you, Amy," _he whispered, sending chills up her spine. _"If you don't come back with me… I don't think I'd know what to do."_

Amy was silent again, and Sonic's words seemed to hang in the empty space. She pulled away from him, and looked up at his face. _"You know what they say, Sonic? They say that when you're going to die, memories of those you love most flash through your mind."_

Sonic remained silent, staring hard at her.

_"Do you know who I saw when I was going to die?"_

Sonic continued staring at her, his hands resting on her shoulders. Then, he slowly shook his head.

Amy sighed. _"I saw my family, Sonic. My mom and dad… all those people who have died already… They all died before I was even old enough to have memories. It's so… weird… that I can still see their faces. Strange, huh?" _She paused for a second, then drew a deep breath. _"I'm going to see my family now… finally."_

Sonic looked down at her angrily. _"How can you say that?" _Amy flinched at his harsh tone. _"Look…" _Sonic softened his voice. _"Nobody really knows what happens when you die. And besides… you have a new family now. Us, Amy," _he said, answering the pink hedgehog's unspoken question. _"We're your family now. How sad do you think we're going to feel when you leave us?"_

This time, it was Amy's turn to be angry. _"You don't know what it's like, Sonic!" _she screamed at him. _"You and your… stupid big head! You… you…" _She bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry out in horror. _"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Sonic…" _For Sonic had just taken on a pained look. _"I… I forgot…" _

_"Me too…" _Amy looked at him, confused. _"You know, Amy, when I met all you guys… Tails, Knuckles, the others… I figured out something." _He tilted her head up so that the two were looking directly at each other. _"I had a new family. I'm sure my parents… or whoever was in my family… would've been happy that I moved on. I'm sure that they wouldn't have wanted me to dwell on the past forever."_

Amy's eyes filled with tears. Her eyes started darting from the door to Sonic's face.

_"Think of all the people who will miss you, Amy," _continued Sonic. _"Cream will never find a better friend then you. Tails is never going to find another person who will listen to his talk about his inventions. Who else will Rouge find to argue with? And Shadow… well, he told me that you reminded him of Maria." _He chuckled lightly at Amy's astonishment.

Amy astonishment suddenly turned to sadness again, and it ate away at Sonic's heart. _"Sonic… when I was dying, I saw a lot of other things too."_

Sonic moved his hands so that they were brushing away her bangs from her face. _"What else… did you see?" _he asked softly.

_"I saw…" _she nestled her forehead against Sonic's hand. _"I saw all our friends… all those times when we worked together, when we argued, when we worried, and when we laughed. I saw all those times when it seemed like we will fall apart, but always got back together in the end. How good it felt when we worked together to save the world… how we helped each other out, whether we wanted to or not." _She gave a sad laugh.

_"It's true you know… what they say about seeing your loved ones before you die," _she continued with the slightest smile. _"And… and I guess… I'm really glad I saw you Sonic… that I could be with you… in the end…"_

Sonic gave her another frustrated look. _'Are those… tears?' _thought Amy in wonder as she stared at his eyes… how close it seemed to be, how it seemed to engulf her…

_"I told you, Amy." _His voice shook ever slightly. _"You're coming with me. You have to Amy. You know that, right? Because… because I love you." _Sonic took a deep breath like it had taken him a lot of energy just to say those three words.

Suddenly, something hot… burning hot was brushing his lips… and he realized that Amy's lips were on his. She had them brushed against his for only a second… but it felt so much longer than that. After all, how could such a short kiss hold that much passion? How could such a short kiss set his lips on fire?

Amy drew away, but her smile was still sad. _"What happened to: 'I'll never turn back; I've got no regrets…'"_

_"'…'Cause time won't wait for me… I choose to go my own way…'" _They both finished at the same time. _"Amy… I said I choose to go my own way… and my own way is to be with you. I told you, I love you." _How good it felt to have those words wash over his tongue!

Suddenly, Amy's face split into a beautiful smile that would've made the stars dim in vain. The sound of a thousand crystal bells toiled through the air… and it took him a moment to realize that she was laughing! Her face sparkled, and it looked like the face of life itself was alight on it. _"Oh, Sonic!" _she said, in between her fits of laughter. _"You don't know how long I waited for you to tell me that!"_

_"I do," _replied Sonic, and he started to smile with her. _"Forever."_

Amy's laughter died down, but it sounded like it went on forever. _"I wonder how you do it," _she said, her voice filled with wonder. _"How can you convince everyone to do the impossible?"_

Sonic smiled, one that could rival Amy's. _"Because nothing's impossible for Sonic the Hedgehog!" _he declared, pumping up a fist.

Amy gave a cry of laughter, her eyes sparkling with mere remnants of tears. She threw herself into Sonic's chest, hugging him tightly. _"Now that sounds more like the old Sonic!"_

He laughed, hugging her back. The moment seemed so perfect. _"And that sounds more like the Amy I know!" _He drew away from her, and held out a hand. _"Now, let's get outta here."_

Amy reached her hand out for his. Her face was so open, one that radiated light of it's own. Their finger touched, and she smiled even wider…

… When her face suddenly contorted to one of surprise, and her body was yanked back.

_"What the…!"_

_**"You just never give up, do you?"**_

_"Sonic, help!"

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_

**_A/N: _**If you think this was long, the original one was even longer... What can I say? I really love writing this fic...

So, Sonic manages to pull off what one might call a "miracle." How many more miracles does Sonic have up his sleeve? Come back to find out! (Oh, behold the power of corny questions!)

Last note: "I'll never turn back; I've got no regrets... 'Cause time won't wait for me... I choose to go my own way!" That's Sonic the Hedgehog's quote, in case any of you didn't know. I just had to add that in (not to mention that I friggen love this quote!)

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**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**jacqueline: **Well, I hope you enjoyed this one! Thanks for reading!

**Sofia: **Oh, c'mon. Do you really think I'd kill Amy Rose? Am I really that evil? No... wait, don't answer that (sweatdrops). Thanks for reading!

azngirlchibi


	19. Chapter 19 Standing on a Border

**_A/N: _**Geez, about time, eh? Anyway, I'm so glad it's FINALLY the long weekend (bows down before the genious who invented "vacations"). I'm not even going to think about my homework until Monday (procrastinating is so much fun, no?). Oh, and I realized that the link to the forums thingy didn't work, so I'll post it again. Just take out the spaces in between. Oh, and add the missing colon and extra slash in the beginning of "http."

http / www . fanfiction . net / ft / 555433 / 13922 / 1 /

Enjoy, all you wonderful people!

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_**Disclaimer: **Are you kidding me? I'd love to own Sonic the hedgehog! But I don't...

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"Amy!" _

Sonic's chest tightened, as if the darkness around him was suddenly trying to crush him. Amy screamed again, her hand reaching for his…

_"Sonic!"_

Sonic tried to run to her, but she was already disappearing, her body half-covered in the liquid-like darkness. It slowly inched up her ankles, snaked around her chest, until only her head was left.

_"No, Amy! Wait!" _But she was disappearing too fast… too fast! The darkness seemed to force itself down her mouth, muffling her screams. Her eyes were wide with fear as the darkness crept over her nose, and she gave what sounded like a cough… like she was being choked…

_"Amy!" _

… And she was gone. Sonic made a grab for where she was… just a second ago. It was one second… only one second! And he wasn't fast enough…

A dark chuckle suddenly reverberated around him, and Sonic recognized it immediately. A voice that he hated more than ever before… that made him almost… lust to kill…

**_"Ah… so you can feel it? The hate, the anger?" _**Sonic twisted his head around, trying to locate the source of the sound. But the only thing he could see was the nothingness that surrounded him, that had snatched Amy away.

**_"Tell me, Sonic… does it make you feel… powerful?"_**

_"You…" _A growl rumbled low in his throat, and his eyes were flashing dangerously. He made another swipe at the darkness surrounding him, but only managed to pass his hand through nothingness. _"Come out here!"_

_**"You should be happy, Sonic… I'm protecting her… from the likes of you."**_

Sonic's eyes widened, his pupils contracted. _'See…?' _The voices… the voices… why were they back? _'See…?' _Their snide whispers fleeted by his mind so quickly that he almost missed them. _'It is your fault…'_

_"No… no!" _Who was he talking to? Was he talking to the voices or to his mirror self? _"You're a liar!"_

_**"But Sonic… you even admitted yourself…" **_Dark green eyes suddenly pierced through the darkness. A chilling, icy coldness seemed to knife through his chest. **_"You felt yourself doing all those things to your friends…"_**

Sonic shook his heads, narrowing his eyes as if they might push away those voices, and staring straight at those chilling eyes, even as he felt the coldness bury itself deeper within him. _"No…" _His voice held the slightest tremor. _"It was you… it was you!" _He lunged at those pair of eyes, but they vanished again. A part of him dearly prayed that he was just imagining them.

**_"Ah… doubting your sanity?" _**A flash of blue quills… a flutter of a dress. **_"Don't you remember how they screamed? How they begged for mercy? How you held nothing back when you…"_**

_"Shut up you sick bastard!" _Sonic blindly lashed out with his leg. Wasn't the sound of running feet coming from there just a second ago? Sonic drew in a deep breath, trying to force himself to calm down. This was nothing… just another villain. Just another… another…

_'Another what…?' _The voice caressed his mind. _'Another… you?'_

_"No…" _Sonic gritted his teeth. He could hear them cracking inside his mouth, and the taste of blood ran down his throat. He clenched his fist as hard as he could. _"It… wasn't… me!" _Sonic threw a punch as hard as he could into the darkness.

There was a shout of surprise, followed by a muffled scream. A perfect image of himself fell seemingly out of nowhere, as if someone had suddenly pushed him out from behind a curtain that no one could see. It had a hand over it's mouth, but Sonic could see the edges of an ugly, darkening bruise starting to take form. A pink bundle was being held tightly by it's other arm and being shaken roughly like a rag doll.

In a flash, Sonic was looming over the figure. The form on the ground jerked his head up in surprise. **_"How…" _**And it was all he managed to utter, before he had to jump back to avoid a kick.

_"No… I won't listen to you!" _Sonic shouted, his voice ringing loudly. It was strange how such an angry voice can ring in the exact same place where the musical sound of laughter was floating, just a moment ago. Sonic curled up into a spiky ball, and hurled himself at Amy's captor.

**_"You don't have to listen to me, Sonic," _**came the reply. Eyes glittering maliciously, the hedgehog reared back his foot, the delivered a mighty kick at his attacker, who was flung back, and landed with a painful _thump _in the empty space.

**_"Just listen to yourself, Sonic. You don't have to listen to a word I say… but how can you doubt yourself?"_**

_'He's right, you know…' _Sonic felt his ears plaster themselves on his skull, wanting to avoid the voices… the voices that were swirling around in his head…

_"No… no… no!" _Sonic struggled back to his feet. _"You… can't make me… listen… Ugh!"_

His mirror form had taken advantage of this moment of weakness. He gave Sonic a kick to his chin, making his head flip upwards painfully and cracking his neck. **_"Sanity is such a fragile thing, isn't it?" _**He asked him. Without waiting for a reply, he sent a roundhouse kick to Sonic's direction, making him skid even further away.

Surpassing the pain of his battered body, Sonic got up to his feet. _"You…" _his voice was hoarse, interrupted by his harsh breathing. _"Tikal… told me… all about you…"_

His form gave him a grin. His fangs glinted in the darkness. **_"You think I don't know…?"_**

Sonic's mouth almost dropped open in surprise. _'He can hear you… so that must mean that…'_

Sonic shook his head. He didn't want to finish the thought… but his other form seemed to be happy to.

**_"Oh, nothing gets by you, does it?" _**He roughly hefted Amy higher up his arms. **_"Of course I know what she said. I heard everything… every single word." _**He smirked, enjoying the look on this pathetic excuse for a hedgehog's face. **_"Is that not enough proof for you? If you could feel everything that I was doing… and I could feel everything that you were doing… then doesn't that mean that we're the same person? That everything we did was because we both wanted it to happen?"_**

He had planted the seed of doubt in Sonic's mind… and now, all he had to do was sit back and watch Sonic make it grow.

_'See… he is right… how can you fight that?' _Sonic collapsed on his knees, no longer caring that he was openly displaying weakness. _'See?' _

**_"They hate you. All of them do. And if Amy here was to be honest…I bet she's the one who hates you most of all."_**

_'No… that's not true… is it?' _Sonic lifted his eyes to Amy's body, but she was hanging limply in her captor's arms. _'No… that's not true… it can't be!'_

_"Sonic…"_

Sonic almost choked on the air he was breathing. That sounded like… Amy!

_"Sonic… it hurts… it hurts so much…"_

Sonic jolted himself upright. Amy was flickering in his form's arms!

**_"Oh… looks like her time's almost up!"_** His mirror form threw a disdainful glance at the package he was holding in his arms.

Sonic found that he still had to strength to speak. _"What do you mean?"_

The disdainful look was turned to him now. **_"Don't you notice that we're here all alone?"_**

The blue hedgehog looked around him. Now that he thought about it… shouldn't this place be full of dead… people? Their souls? Their ghosts? Or whatever they called them?

Amy flickered again, and she gave a groan. _"Make it stop… Sonic… help me… it… hurts…"_

_'Amy…' _He seemed to draw strength on her name. He pushed himself with all his might to his feet, but teetered dangerously.

His mirror image did nothing to stop him. **_"You see… we are now, literally, standing between life and death." _**He pointed to the door, indicating what he must've thought to be "death." **_"No one can stand here forever. Not even you… or me. It's almost like living a half-life… and that's impossible." _**

Amy groaned again, but her voice sounded dangerously weak. _"Please… help me…"_

She was ignored by her captor, who continued on. **_"Some people say that if you stand at this border too long, your spirit and soul will simply vanish. Of course, no one knows what happens if you die…" _**He gave a sadistic laugh at this. **_"… Nor are they in any condition to tell us… but what I do know is that death would be paradise… compared to what might happen to this brat."_**

_'Brat…' _The word grated in Sonic's ears, and he gritted his teeth, forcing his mind to go numb against the voices in his head.

_"Sonic… please…" _Amy's voice sounded again, weaker than ever. Sonic's eyes snapped to her, his heart starting to pound in fear. Who knows what he might do if he couldn't save her?

Sonic took a step forward, his mind starting to race too fast for the voices to chase him. _"Look," _he started, surprised that his voice could still sound so strong. _"It's… me you want, right? Then you can…"_

_**"Oh please," **_his other form interrupted. **_"Is this a hostage exchange I'm hearing? Because if it is, the answer is no." _**He kept talking before Sonic could get another word in. **_"Is it not obvious to you that both of us have stayed here too long as well? None of us are strong enough to get back to the living world alone. That would just get us killed, fool." _**

Sonic's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he couldn't hide his fear as Amy's breath started growing increasingly shallow. _"Then what do you want?"_

A wicked grin was thrown to his direction. **_"If we merge together again, we may have enough energy to get back. And with Amy," _**he added. **_"You want to save the poor thing, don't you?" _**he asked in a mocking voice.

The hedgehog swallowed. _'Go back… with him?' _What would he make him do once they were back to the living world? Kill his friends? Or maybe even worse?

Amy's breaths were getting louder now. Gasping, choking, wheezing… She gave a cough, like something was pouring itself down her throat, blocking her windpipe…

Suddenly, it was like he didn't even need to think anymore. All he knew… was that Amy was too important to him. Too important to lose…

_"Ok, I'll do it."_

No more words were exchanged. Amy was flickering more and more, becoming more and more transparent each time.

They started walking to each other. The sound of Amy's breathing filled his ears, until they felt so full that they might burst. Both of them reached out a hand, mirroring each other's moves.

The tips of their fingers touched. Sonic saw them merge together, like he was standing in front of a mirror and was somehow falling through it. A bubbling, liquid-like sound emitted from them, but they seemed to slide smoothly together like two perfect halves.

Suddenly, all he could see was darkness… darkness that he was falling through. He felt his mouth open, but he couldn't hear the scream. He couldn't feel the pain… and yet he felt like something was hurting him. Hurt without pain? Was that possible?

His own image flitted across his eyes. It was like someone had drawn him, but had no clue what his eyes really looked like. Like they had drawn him, but had mistaken him to be the antagonist. He saw the mouth open, and heard his own voice. **_"So, Sonic… I had helped you. My powers have been drained now… I am merely a shadow of what I used to be…"_**

It was true. He could hear his voice… it was faint, so very faint. But somehow, it just made it sound so much more menacing.

**_"If it wasn't for the fact that I can't live without you, I wouldn't have helped. But now that I have helped you… I expect something in return…"_**

Sonic found that he couldn't refuse. He couldn't open his mouth, couldn't move his body, and couldn't resist him in any way at all.

**_"Sonic… I want you to stay away from your friends… not that I think you have a choice…"_**

_'What do you mean?' _he wanted to ask. But again, his words seemed to freeze before they reached his lips.

**_"Think about it, Sonic…" _**the voice replied in a mocking voice. **_"You'd be doing them a favor. You'd merely be helping them. After all… I'm sure you remember that feeling of wanting to kill someone, don't you?"_**

Yes, he could… It was like someone was sending that feeling rushing through him. The adrenaline, the exhilaration… he felt disgusted.

**_"And even if you manage to control that… I'm sure that I won't be able to…"_**

His voice was getting farther and farther away, like they were falling in separate directions…

**_"Remember…"

* * *

_**

Sonic gasped like he had broken through the surface of a lake, breathing his first breath of air.

_'Amy!'_

The wind blasted into his face. All around him, the sky was starting to lighten, signaling the rising of the sun. The faint, first glows gave him a comforting warmth, reassuring him that he was back in the world of the living.

Something shifted in his arms, and he looked down. His fur was back to normal; the bright, cobalt blue, his eyes their bright emerald green. Amy shifted again in his arms, and as Sonic watched, her fur was starting to become tinged with her natural pink, not the sickly pale colour he had seen earlier. His heart leapt as she gave a soft groan, and she blearily opened her eyes…

**_"Remember…"_**

Sonic's eyes widened, and suddenly, the light of the sun felt like icicles piercing his skin. His breathing became short and shallow, his heart beating faster and faster…

"Sonic…?"

His ears twitched to the sound of Amy's voice, and he felt the irresistible urge to hold tightly onto her and never let go… _'No… I can't, I can't!'_

_'I… have to go.' _Silently, he felt a part of him collapse as he realized that that was what his counterpart had wanted. For him to live all alone so that he could be forever trapped with his own thoughts.

Was Amy reading his mind? Suddenly, her grip on him tightened unbearably, but he found that he wanted to do the same to her. "Amy…" he whispered, his voice so quiet that it could barely be heard over the rushing wind. "Let me go."

It was like a fire was suddenly lit inside her. Her voice grew stronger, her breathing deeper. "No… no!" Her body was still weak, but he could see that she was pushing herself as hard as she could to hold onto him. "I can't… lose you again! Please, Sonic…"

He started to gently pry himself loose, even though he could feel his heart slowly tear as her fingers released him. "Let go, Amy. Let go of me… you have to let go."

"No!" Amy's eyes were filling with tears. Why did he always have to go as soon as she caught him? "I can't… you can't… please don't make me do this!" Her voice was shaking so hard. She was trying her best to surpass the sobs that threatened to escape her. Even the bright surroundings around her did nothing to ease her pain.

"Amy, please don't cry…" Sonic cupped his hands around her cheek. The words seemed to drive a wedge through Amy.

"I… I thought…" Amy's tears started streaming over Sonic's gloved hand, soaking it with the scent of tangy salt. "I thought you loved me… why do you have to go?"

Sonic dipped his head closer to hers. There foreheads touched, and it was taking him all his strength not to cry himself. "I do love you, Amy." He didn't dare raise his voice above a whisper… like he was afraid of breaking something. "That's why I have to go…"

There noses touched. Amy could smell that scent on him… the scent of the wilderness. "Sonic…" Her warm breath washed over Sonic's face. "Please… stay with me… I don't understand…"

Sonic shook his head. "Amy… I don't want you to understand. I want to protect you… your life is more precious than… than…" The blue hedgehog suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Amy finished the sentence for him. "… More precious than love?" She asked, her voice shaking, cracking…

"No… don't say that," replied Sonic. He stared at her eyes, wishing that he could just lose himself in them. "It's harder to leave this way…"

Amy's grip tightened on him again, but it seemed weak. "I'll say it a thousand times every day if it'll keep you here…"

Sonic shook his head again. How could this girl be so devoted to him? Didn't she know how hard it was to leave her right now? Didn't she know that it was hurting him too? That it was like he was trying to tear his soul in half?

"Amy… I don't want to leave. I really don't…" He gritted his teeth again. _'Idiot!' _He thought to himself. _'Idiot, idiot, idiot!'_

"Then don't," Amy answered him. "Isn't that simple enough?"

Sonic swallowed hard. "Amy, it's not that simple. I wish it was… you don't know how much I wish it was…"

There faces were so close now, there lips an inch apart.

"Don't leave me all alone…" pleaded Amy.

Sonic couldn't say anything… so he did the only thing that seemed to make sense in his mind. He kissed her.

He let out a sigh of pure bliss. How easy it was to forget that the world isn't all innocent…

**_"I'm sure… that I won't be able to…"_**

There it was… that feeling again. Adrenaline filled blood started rushing through his body… there were screams… the wonderful screams… the rivers of blood… a kingdom of red…

**_"Make your choice… Sonic…"_**

Sonic jerked away from Amy, his heart a pounding frenzy in his chest. He was surprised that Amy couldn't hear it.

"Sonic…" Her voice soft, she reached for his face. "Sonic… don't… leave…"

Sonic's eyes were constricted, his pupils so small in his head that the light in his world was turning dark. He couldn't… he couldn't… just couldn't!

Amy swallowed back her tears… but then saw his eyes. Her own widened as she saw them. He looked so… lost. Like he was scared… more frightened then he had ever felt in his life. It made him look so innocent… and it scared Amy. She wanted so badly to help him… to take it away. She wanted Sonic to stay with her!

"I'm sorry, Amy…"

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain somewhere on her neck. Darkness started surrounding her, the real world starting to slip through her fingers like the way Sonic's body was pulling away from hers…

_'No…'

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_

Light was stabbing her eyes, making them water under her eyelids. Cream felt someone shaking her, calling her name.

"Cream! Cream!"

She opened her eyes, and they met with the bright cerulean blue ones that she knew so well.

"Tails!" She cried out in joy. She threw her arms around his neck, sobbing and choking on her own tears. "Tails… Tails!" She kept on repeating his name, relishing the way her tongue clicked in her mouth as she said it. She broke away from him. "How did you…?"

Tails's look suddenly darkened. "Sonic…" he said, simply, his voice empty. He pointed behind him.

Cream's eyes widened. Knuckles… Rouge… Shadow… the Chaotix… everyone! She collapsed on the ground, dizzy. "How…?" she asked, weakly.

There was a sob behind her. Cream wheeled around.

"He's gone…" It was Amy. She seemed to have shrunk, like a part of her had been taken away.

"Who?" asked Cream, her eyes wide with worry. She looked around. _'Everyone's here… except…' _Her eyes widened even more, if that was possible.

"Sonic…" replied Amy, her voice hollow. "He's gone," she said again, tears streaming from her empty eyes.

There was a thick silence.

Cream stared at her friend. For some reason, she felt no pity towards her… but she did feel as if a huge weight was suddenly placed on her chest. Like something was trying it's hardest to crush her… like she was now all alone in the world. She remembered the feeling… when she thought all her friends were dead, how desperate she felt… Cream opened her mouth. She wanted to tell Amy that she wasn't alone. That she would be right there by her side… even if she knew that it won't be the same as Sonic.

"I know how you feel…"

Amy looked up, her anger suddenly flared. Who had dared to say that? Who had dared to even suggest that they could feel even a shadow of her emotions right now?

An arm lightly touched hers.

Cream.

"Amy…"

Amy was starting to shake. "Don't you dare… you don't even know…" The words seemed to be trying to tumble out too fast out of her mouth. Too fast for her to control.

"Amy…" Another hand was closing in on her.

'No...' she thought. 'Don't come near me… Don't touch me… Don't…'

Something inside her snapped. Some sort of feeling… and ugly feeling, reared itself inside her. With all her might, she slapped Cream across the face.

If possible, the silence turned even thicker. The sound of the slap was still echoing in Amy's ears, pushing itself into her brain. An angry, purple welt was starting to form right underneath Cream's sky-blue eyes. The bruise seemed to mock her. 'This is who you will become without Sonic,' it seemed to say.

The two best friends just stared at each other with a horrific awe. Cream's hand slowly moved to the welt, as if making sure it was really there. She winced as her fingers brushed over it.

"Oh Cream… oh Cream…" Amy's voice turned hoarse, shame seeping in to mix with sadness.

Cream stood up and started approaching Amy again, her footsteps broken and uneven. After what seemed like an eternity, she was in front of Amy. The two made eye contact, and the rabbit said something that snapped the silence in half.

"It's okay."

Everyone seemed to be holding in their breath…

"Cream…" A strangled sob escaped Amy, and her arms were suddenly around Cream. The weight caused them both to sink into the ground, but they hardly noticed. The two were sobbing on the ground, ignoring everything around them. It was just the two of them right now, in their world.

Their cries and sobs filled the air like the broken notes from a bird's song. Rouge's sensitive ears twitched as the sounds washed over them. She wanted to curse Sonic, curse him into oblivion. How could he just leave Amy like this? It was so… selfish! She felt Knuckles's hand suddenly rest on her shoulder, but she didn't say anything. It was as if the two were sharing the same thoughts.

Tails was beside her, staring hard at the ground. His eyes were glazed over, unseeing. He seemed like a lost little boy without Sonic's figure beside him.

The Chaotix were to be at a loss for words. Even Charmey wasn't buzzing around; instead, he was staring around uncomfortably, like the rest of the Chaotix, as if searching for an invisible map leading to Sonic engraved in the air.

Shadow had his back turned to the girls, as if the sight of their tears disgusted him, but his eyes were squinted and turned towards the horizon. It was as if he hoped to maybe… just maybe catch a glimpse of blue quills in the distance.

A crown of light was starting to pierce the sky, but it gave them no comfort. The sun started rising, but the rays it threw seemed to be bleeding the sky red.

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**_A/N: _**Wow... it's so hard for me to believe that this fic is about to end. I'd say there's about 2 - 3 chapters left, probably. I was going to end it here, actually (this was different, originally). I just thought that it'd be weird to not explain how this impacted Sonic's relationship with everyone, so... I extended it. 

And so... I must choose my next story. Hmm... let's make this into a contest! If any of you had visited my profile, you would know that I have ideas that I'm tossing around... and I just can't decide! So, here's a question about me to answer. If you get it right, you can choose the next story... or, if you think all my ideas suck, you can just give me an idea... or tell me to quite writing. Either way (smiles).

Azngirlchibi lives in...

a) Guangzhou, China

b) Andong, South Korea

c) Belleville, USA

d) Bedok, Singapore

e) Waterloo, Canada

f) Nagoya, Japan

And no, if you get it right, I will definatly _not _send you a p/m saying that you are. I mean, I might as well just tell you where I live, right? I'll just say what fic I'll be writing in the next chapter. Leave the answer and your fic choice...and yes, there are asians living in asian countries who can fluently speak english... (hint hint, nudge nudge).

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**Anonymous Reviews:**

**_Alenia Shadows: _**LOL, I know the feeling. I should hire you to write suspenseful questions at the end of each chapter for me :D. Thanks for reading!

**_Bunnylass: _**Sorry I didn't answer earlier. The site kept on telling me that your review didn't exist... right... Anyway, cliffies are fun to leave... they make me feel powerful and evil! LOL, thanks for reading!

**_Sofia: _**Oh, I just always have to make everything sad just when it's getting better, don't I? I'm so nice! Thanks for reviewing!

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See you! 

azngirlchibi


	20. Chapter 20 Maybe There's Hope

**_A/N: _**(Squeaks in a semi-hysterical voice) Hey! And how are you all doing on this dreary, grey, cloudy day? That's good! I'm just extremly tired, 'cause I keep on waking up in the middle of the night! (twitches) I can't sleep at all, but I still managed to type out this chapter without blowing up the computer!

Ok, joking aside, I don't really have much to say. I'm just really, really tired. I want to sleep, but it's only 5:07 p.m right now, so I can't sleep...

Enjoy the chapter despite me anyway!

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**Disclaimer: **_Well, at least I don't own Sonic. What, with the papparzzi following me all the time, I bet I wouldn't know what the word "sleep" meant._

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A velvet curtain of red was slowly spreading across the sky, like it was being drawn over an inky-black window. Shots of yellow threaded through the bright red - a pattern of stitches that would take your breath away. Clouds floated hazily across the sun, their puffy white bodies absorbing the colours of the sunrise, as if it was determined to spread it's beauty across the Earth. An unreal purplish was mixing in with the dark, midnight blue of the sky, resulting in a border of pink where they met. The stars were starting to fade, but they twinkled softly, knowing that they would be back.

The city of Station Square was just a huge shadow in the middle of this show of nature, so insignificant against the sky. It was quiet as well… very quiet. No birds chirped, even though the rays of light were already reaching towards the trees, the silent wind causing it to flicker as the leaves of the trees swayed back and forth. But the silence seemed loud in it's own way. Like words that were waiting to be whispered against one's ear, words that were waiting to be tasted on the tongue…

Yes… the world was quiet this morning… a quiet morning full of unspoken words…

The grass rustled softly as the wind played with the short blades. Some of the strands were thrown high in the air, riding up and down helplessly in it's currents. A single blade of grass, a deep emerald green, was swept up especially high, and equally green eyes followed the wild dance that it was creating, as if they had no care to watch anything else.

How easy was it to stay here… just staring… and staring? Sonic felt his legs aching for exercise, his whole body wanting to move. But his mind… and his heart… his stupid, fragile heart… wouldn't let him. And slowly, the seconds had turned to minutes… minutes to hours… hours… to… had it been days since he had stood here, in the untouched wilderness surrounding Station Square? Time seemed to blur together for Sonic, exactly the way it had in the past, but it was no longer with the joy that he once felt, thinking that even time couldn't outrun him, couldn't confine him.

_'Back…' _He thought that that was what his heart seemed to be saying as it slowly beat in his chest. _'I want to go back… back… back…'_

_'Back…' _Sonic grounded his knuckles on his forehead, as if it could knead the thought away. _'Hedgehog, you've never regretted going away from Station Square before. Traveling the world… that's what you do best, right?'_

_'But it's not Station Square I'll miss,' _whispered a little voice. _'Whenever I traveled the world, I knew that there were people I could always go back to… always be welcomed into their home … even if I'll only leave an hour later to some other adventure…'_

Damn, why was his heart agreeing with that voice? _'Home?' _He wanted to laugh at the word, to wipe it away from his mind. _'Home? The world is my home. Everywhere the wind takes me is my home.'_

How the voice seemed to laugh at him! At his stupidity, his ego, and his heart. _'Yes… but there was always one place that the wind seemed to like to take you the most, wasn't there?'_

_'So? It's not like Station Square is going to disappear! It's not it's going to disappear off the face of the Earth! It's not like I'll never… visit… or…'_

The voice sighed, weary. _'You know yourself, Sonic. You'll never come back again this time. You'll turn around… and you'll never be able to look back again.'_

_'Back…' _His heart thudded the chant out again. _'I want to go back…' _

The blade of grass landed on his shoulder, and he impatiently brushed it off. If floated away, and landed on one of the many giant scorch marks on the ground – reminders to Sonic of how many times he had revved up, ready to leave… only to stop again. How his mind had forced him to stop, how his heart started flooding him with yearning. The black marks had started to burn in his eyes after a while, imprinting them permanently there, as if trying to tell him something… but what?

Sonic stood up, the joint in his legs giving a faint _'pop' _as if to remind him of their lack of movement. Even the beautiful view that he could see on top of this hill did nothing to help him. It seemed to make his heart ache more than ever.

_'I want to go back…'_

Sonic almost stomped his foot in the ground in frustration, as if it was the hill's fault that his heart was whispering these accursed words to him, as if it was the hill's fault that his heart wanted something that it couldn't get. _'"Want" is different from "Need,"' _he almost shouted out loud, trying to silence his heart's beating.

_'You're right, Sonic,' _he heard it reply. _'I don't just want to go back… I need to. I really need to.'_

Sonic felt his body tense up, as if it was protesting his heart. Was it his body's way of saying no? Of trying to defy what he already knew? An unknown emotion rose up inside him, and he felt the bile rise in his throat. He suddenly whipped around, and punched the one lonely tree beside him on the gentle hill. The wood splintered beneath his knuckles, and the tree swayed and rustled loudly, cracking the silence, as if in protest. "Damn…" he whispered out loud, his voice barely audible above the silence.

_Crack…_

Sonic froze. Was his mind playing tricks on him again? Was reality starting to blur before him? He turned around slowly, but his eyes met nothing. He could see everything from the top of this hill… it was impossible for someone to get so near him without him seeing.

_Crack…_

"So… this is where the great Sonic the Hedgehog ran off to."

Sonic whipped around, his heart in his mouth. His quills stood on end, stiff and hard, reflecting the blood-red rays of the sun. _'It's him!' _Was his first thought, his mind frenzy with fear. _'It's me! That… that monster!' _Had he come to take his mind so soon? Had he come to destroy what remained of him? But then, what his eyes saw caught up with his mind, and his fear was washed away by surprise. Sonic stared, both he and the person's shadow stretched long against the grass… even though _this _person's shadow was wider than it was long.

Dr. Robotnik frowned at him. His eyebrows furrowed together, and his large, pointed nose wrinkled up. "Is it that surprising to see me?"

Sonic took an involuntary step back, but then mentally berated himself. _'It's just that Eggman again… that's all…' _But wasn't it Eggman who landed him into this mess in the first place? Wasn't it him who captured him, captured Amy… try to completely destroy him? As he kept thinking these thoughts, he got angrier and angrier. Yes… it was his fault! Everything was his fault! Sonic growled, and took a step back forward. _"You…" _It was surprising that he could grind those words out, angry as he was.

The diabolical scientist deepened his frown. "Well, what do you know? All these years, I thought that you didn't even know _how _to get angry."

"You…" Sonic almost choked on his words, but anger still dripped in every syllable of his voice. "How could you?"

Robotnik looked down at him. His frown suddenly turned into a look of contempt, and he scoffed. "Sonic, we've known each other for… well, I don't remember how many years. Don't tell me you didn't see this coming?"

Sonic dug his heels into the ground, trying to control the urge to wrap his hands around the doctor's neck. "See it coming? _See it coming?!" _He asked, mocking Robotnik. "After all that, that's all you have to say?"

Robotnik still held that same look of contempt as he, apparently subconsciously, rubbed his knees. _'Did he walk all the way here?' _wondered Sonic for a moment, but then quickly, he brushed the thought away. Why did he care? The doctor deserved all the pain in the world! It was all his fault that he couldn't go back… all his fault that he couldn't see his friends again.

Sonic bit back an angry sob. _'His fault…' _

He would never hear the sounds of whirring gears as Tails worked away at his machines. He would never have another race with Shadow. He would never watch the Chaotix blunder through another mystery. He would never laugh as Rouge and Knuckles argued with each other again.

And Amy… god, he would never hold her again, run his fingers through her fur, smell her scent, never kiss her again… He would never whisper those three words to her; he would never get the chance to apologize for all that he'd done…

'_His fault…'_

"Look, Sonic." Sonic snapped out of his thoughts, but he threw the doctor the coldest look he could possibly manage.

It was ignored. "Don't tell me that you really are planning to leave." Robotnik gave the hedgehog a slightly inquiring look.

Sonic snapped. He pounced on the doctor, and the pair fell over on the grass. Even though the man was clearly bigger than the hedgehog, he was struggling under Sonic's iron grip. Sonic threw the doctor a filthy look, and Robotnik stared up at him… and something like fear seemed to flash beneath his indigo glasses. "Why do you care?" Sonic hissed, his breath brushing over Robotnik's face. "You cause everyone so much pain, you monster! How many people have you killed in your lifetime? How many more are going to die?"

"Well," Robotnik's voice gave the slightest tremor. "You didn't seem to care much back then. Remember Perfect Chaos? Remember Soleanna? And yet, you didn't seem to care much for those people at all." Robotnik's mouth curved into a sneer, hiding his fear. "Speed, and the taste for adventure… that's all you cared about then, wasn't it?"

"No!" Sonic saw his hands inching towards his throat. "Of course I cared!" _'… Didn't I?'_

"Don't lie to yourself!" Spit flew out of Robotnik's mouth. He seemed to have forgotten his fear. "Everyone was like that once. Everyone was selfish once in their life… Did you think that your speed made you immortal to emotions? Did you think that you were a god?"

"No…" Sonic felt his voice getting weaker. "No… I didn't…"

_'What he says is true, you know.' _Sonic drew in a sharp breath. _'You were always so busy running… you never thought much about feeling or emotions at all, did you?'_

_'But what about all those people I've saved?' _Sonic argued back._ 'What about the friends that I protected?'_

_'… And what about those people that you failed to protect?'_

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut, blocking the man in front of him from view. _'Are you telling me that I have to be perfect?'_

_'Aren't all gods perfect?'_

Sonic snapped his eyes opened. His mind felt so clouded, and he seemed to be peering through a hazy cloud. _'No… it's all his fault!' _His friends' smiling faces flashed through his mind's eye as he stared down at Robotnik. _'His fault… everything…' _Words, fragments were coming to his brain in small bits. _'His fault!' _Sonic closed his hands around Robotnik's throat.

Robotnik's eyes widened as he felt his windpipe close. He gasped, his eyes rolling up as he started thrashing. His hands reached up, trying to claw away Sonic's gloved fingers. The grass rustled beneath him wildly, and the tree behind them shook harder than ever, as if pleading with Sonic to stop.

Suddenly, Robotnik stopped struggling. For a second, Sonic thought that he had killed him, but he heard a hoarse whisper, trembling in fear. "Fine, Sonic." Sonic stared back, but he didn't let his hands go. "Kill me. You'll be no better than that thing that was killing your friends."

Sonic suddenly let go of the doctor, as if his spoken words had scalded his hands. His ears were laid back, as if they had been boxed. _'Some god you are,' _a voice said in his mind. _'You can't even kill someone who has been causing so much pain.'_

Robotnik was slowly getting up, his hands grasping his throat as if Sonic's fingers were still there. He was gulping in air.

_"I'm not…"_

Robotnik stopped his frantic breathing. He stared at the hedgehog.

"I'm not perfect…" He heard Sonic say. Sonic wasn't looking at him. Instead, he had his head turned, his eyes trained towards the horizon.

"I have a heart… I feel emotions…" His eyes were still trained steadily on the horizon, as if he expected something to start running towards him. "I'm not a god… nor do I want to be one. I _couldn't _be one, even if I wanted to anyway." A sudden, chilling wind swept up, but neither human nor hedgehog felt it. "I guess it's emotions that make me imperfect." Sonic's eyes snapped to Robotnik's, and the doctor was surprised to see all the emotions that swirled within them. Ones that he thought the cocky hedgehog he knew could never feel.

"All this time… my heart's been telling me to go back… but I can't." Sonic sighed. "I can't risk them. I just can't. I know I'm hurting myself, but…"

"Oh, stop trying to be a hero!" Robotnik snapped at him. The hedgehog turned to him, surprised. "And don't give me that look. Do you really think that you can really stop your other self from finding your friends if it wants to?"

Sonic glared at his long-time nemesis. "At least I didn't run away like you… like a coward!"

The doctor snorted. "A coward? How did that saying go…? 'Better live a coward than die a hero.'" The doctor gave Sonic a glare too, and their stares matched.

This time, Sonic's answer came quickly. "What's the point of living if you're going to be a coward?"

The doctor gave an exasperated sigh. "A coward can always change his ways if he's still alive. What good would a dead hero do to anybody? Don't tell me that you'd rather die!" The doctor marched up to the Sonic, who stood his ground. "Listen to me, Sonic! … No, listen to what you've been trying to tell yourself all this time!" The doctor loomed over the smaller figure. "I may be a coward, but you running away from all your troubles right now seems pretty cowardly to me!"

Sonic opened his mouth, than shut it. He had nothing to say.

The doctor calmed himself, before straightening back up. "You still haven't answered me, you know," he said. Sonic gave him a questioning glance. "Are you still going to leave?" asked the doctor again.

Sonic gulped. _'I want to stay,' _he thought privately to himself. _'I want to laugh with my friends; I want to cry with them, argue with them. I want it to be like the old days… when we were happy, with not a care in the world. Where I can run with them; run as far as we wanted.' _Sonic took a deep breath. _'I want Amy back. I want to tell her that everything is going to be okay. I want to save her from her troubles… I want to protect her, to be her hero. I want… I want… I want… _But he didn't say this out loud. Instead, he asked him, "Why do you want me to stay anyway? Didn't you go through all that trouble just to get rid of me in the first place?"

The doctor gave a small sigh, before slowly settling his weight on the grass. For the first time, Sonic saw all the small lines and wrinkles on the old doctor's face. He had never thought of how old the doctor was. Every wrinkle seemed to represent another hardship that he had faced in life. Some that was still unconquered.

"You heard Metal Sonic, didn't you?" he asked gruffly. Sonic flinched at the robot's name. The name seemed to him like a long-forgotten song. "It's dangerous extracting negative Chaos energy, and turning it into a fluid. It… seemed to have affected me somehow." The doctor frowned again, and fine lines sagged heavily around his mouth. "Everything around me seemed so much darker… even myself. I would often wonder if I were even myself anymore." The doctor shook his head. A melancholy silence draped itself over his shoulders.

Sonic turned from him. His body was bathed in the golden sunrise. His quills ruffled slightly in the wind. The world still seemed silent, but the silence seemed somehow… less. Like some of the words that it was waiting to be spoken had been used somehow.

Sonic touched his white glove to his forehead. "I don't know," he whispered. "I don't know if I'm leaving anymore. It's… confusing…"

Robotnik stood up, turning his back on him. "Well," he said, his voice sounding rough. "You… should at least say goodbye."

The hedgehog looked at Robotnik's back. Strange how he had thought he knew the doctor well. Now he was more of a stranger than ever. _'Yes… I should at least say goodbye.' _But how will he be able to leave after that? Maybe a small part of him knew the answer. But it wasn't telling him.

Robotnik felt wind rush past him, and he turned around.

Sonic was gone.

Robotnik shook his head, then stared up at the sky. "You're a fool, Robotnik," he whispered to himself. He put his hand into his pocket and felt for something. He pulled it out.

A syringe full of clear liquid glinted in his hands. Energy radiated off of it… a strange energy that gave one chills that flooded into your veins. It even felt icy through his gloves. The sun bounced off of it innocently, and it split the rays into a shower of rainbows. It seemed to tempt you into it's depths, coaxing out your dreams and promising wishes that you never thought possible. And he was one of them who had sunk into it's tempting powers… except he had managed to surface again just in time.

Robotnik stared at it, and whispered to himself again. "You're a soft-hearted fool."

Robotnik dropped the syringe, and it smashed easily on the ground. There was a quiet hiss, and a small, budding white rose, covered in morning dew, shot out of the ground, curling delicately above the grass, as if it was unsure of why it was there.

The tiniest smile graced Robotnik's lips, and he turned, walking slowly down the hill.

* * *

**_A/N: _**Ehh... I didn't like this chapter all that much. It was hard to write a scene between Robotnik and Sonic that didn't include the Chaos Emeralds, Robotnik laughing maniacally, Sonic making a smart-ass comment, or a robot destroying (insert name of city here.) And the flower thingy might've been too corny... I dunno, I thought it was a nice touch. It could just be me though --;; 

Oh, and for the "where I live thing..." Well, since most of you didn't a) participate or b) follow the instructions, I'll just have to pick myself when the time comes. Or when I'm not tired.

Ugh... see you guys soon. I need a nap...

* * *

**Anonymous Reviews**

_(Note that some reviews might be missed, due to the fact that was screwed up lately, and I didn't get any contact from this site whatsoever. Thank you :))_

**Sofia: **Don't worry. Sonic will soon realise that he is being stupid. Soon...

azngirlchibi


	21. Chapter 21 Stay

**_A/N: _**I know. ZOMG, 'tis a new chapter!

You will now find attatched a list of excuses.

a) Severe, _severe _writer's block. With no cure.

b) To tie in with that, an absolute lack of inspiration (I didn't have enough money to buy more).

c) Homework sucks. Though it was semi-fun to make fun of it when I was writing an assignment on it...

e) Mix it all in a big bowl of laziness, and... VOILA! Lack of update.

Phew... okay, now that that's out of the way...

ON WITH ZA CHAPTA!!

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. Sorry, no corny disclaimer joke this time. 

_

* * *

_

_Tick… tick… tick…_

_'Get away from me… get away…'_

_Invisible hands were reaching for him. He tried to turn around and run, but in this slow, dream-like state, he couldn't get away fast enough. A tendril of darkness whipped past his face, and it burned his cheek like fire. _

_'Run… run…'_

_Tails kept running, and he gasped out loud as something gripped his leg. _

_'Please… get away from me…'_

_The grip on his leg tightened, and he was whipped around._

_'Get away…'_

_Emerald eyes gazed into his…_

_'Please, Tails. You have to get away…'_

_But he couldn't… he just couldn't…_

_'Tails! Go!'_

_He closed his eyes…_

_'Go!'_

_Tick… tick… tick…

* * *

_

His body felt numb, and he was shivering uncontrollably. Tails sat up, wincing, as if his cheek really was on fire. He reached his hand up to his cheek by instinct… but felt nothing.

'_A dream…'_ his hand fell back down heavily on his leg. _'It was just a dream…' _

He buried his face into his hands. _'Why… why do I feel like… that I want it to be real?'_

White walls stared back at him, as blank as his mind.

_'I don't know what to think… I don't know what I should feel…'_

The smallest smile stole over his lips.

_'Sonic…' _His lips went dry at the very thought of that name._ 'Tell me what I should feel, please.' _He swallowed, his throat suddenly too dry, his tongue suddenly too heavy._ 'I guess… I'm not as independent as I thought I am…'_

"Oh… you're awake…"

Tails glanced up. "Cream," he said hoarsely, in a way of a greeting.

Cream bit her lip, and sat down tentatively beside him. She stared at him, the saddest look in her eyes. It just felt… so _wrong _to her. Tails had _always _smiled, even through the worst of times. Just like Sonic.

"Cream…" She looked up at the fox. "Where is everyone?"

She relaxed a bit. "Well… after we came back to your house, you fell asleep." Her hand overlaid his, and she clutched it tightly, as if trying to give him all her energy. As if she was about to tell him horrible news. "And then… everyone else left outside. They're… still outside… if you want to see…"

Tails swallowed hard, and he put his other hand over hers.

There was a pause.

_'Please…' _begged Cream silently in her mind. _'Don't ask me about it…' _She knew that it was so selfish… so incredibly selfish. But she couldn't help it. She didn't want to be the one to answer… at least, not now. Not yet.

Of course, her thoughts were ignored.

"What should I do, Cream?" whispered Tails. He looked up at her, his eyes intense. It seemed like a lifetime ago when they had turned ice-cold and hard… how the glimmer in them had disappeared. She flinched, as if it was those eyes that were trained on her. She quickly looked down, as if ashamed.

"Cream…" She couldn't help it. She looked back up at him. He looked at her with eyes that were pleading to her. "I don't know what to do…"

She sighed. It wasn't like she didn't see this coming. She knew that he would ask… and she knew that she had to answer. Even if she herself didn't know what she wanted yet… at least, she thought that she didn't.

She let go of his hands and rested her chin in them. She stared out, thinking. Weighing each of her words carefully in her mind… wondering herself if what she doing was right.

"You know," she finally said, softly. "Amy is really sad." Her dark, brown eyes stared at her own lap.

"I know," replied Tails, his voice just as quiet as they treaded on the taboo subject.

"And," Cream continued, as if they were delicately walking on thin ice, and desperate not to slip. "Knuckles really misses him, even if he doesn't show it. He's really angry with him for leaving."

Tails was silent.

Cream went on, though still a bit uneasy. "Charmey's been really quiet too. The Chaotix seems to be in space most of the time."

Cream watched as Tails's eyes stared at the stitches in the thin blanket that was covering him.

"Rouge… and Shadow…" Cream wetted her lips. "Even though they haven't known… him… for that long, they said that he was a good person. Rouge is upset that Knuckles is upset… and well, I'm not too sure about Shadow…"

"What about you?"

Cream took in a sharp breath. She felt her chin being lifted by a finger, and she met Tails's eyes as they looked searchingly at her.

"Me…?" she asked, quietly.

Tails nodded.

"I…" she swallowed. "I…" She tried to force the words out, but they were being tangled in her mind. Did she really want him back?

"Cream?" spoke Tails, as if the ice under them was beginning to break.

"I… I…" Tails's image started to blur, and she clutched his arm. She placed her face on his shoulder, and let her tears silently fall. "I want him back Tails. I want him back…" Her voice was low and hoarse.

Tails slowly put his hand on the back of her head. Her tears slowed as he rubbed it softly. "Why?" he questioned her.

Cream broke away from him, and it was now he who felt as if the girl was reading his soul.

"Because… I know that you do too."

The ice was broken.

* * *

_'I shouldn't be here.'_

It was the first thought he had as he stood a good distance away from his friends, watching them. The prickly green foliage hid him perfectly, and he was but a shadow to anyone who was passing by. He could've left right then and there… nobody would know…

But he stood there, frozen as he watched them silently.

_'You should… at least say goodbye…'_

Sonic felt like screaming. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't just… go up to them and say goodbye. They wouldn't let him…

_'And you wouldn't let yourself.'_

Where were the words when he needed them?

His mind felt completely blank. And it just confused him all the more.

_'I'm just here to say goodbye. I'm just here to say goodbye. Then I'll leave.'_

Sonic swallowed hard, gathering his courage. Funny how he could fight robots and Eggman without a single thought, without a single doubt… and yet, when it came to his friends…

_"Sonic…"_

Sonic felt his ears perk up at the sound of his name. Carefully, he peered around the tree he was hidden behind, letting the wind hit his face full blast.

_"Sonic… back… right?"_

He tried to strain his ears to catch all the words. Who was speaking? He squinted his eyes, ignoring the increasingly bright glare of the sun.

Five mounds sat around the steps of Tails's house. They were definitely talking about him…

_"Dunno… maybe he'll…"_

The rest of the sentence was drowned out by the sounds of awakening morning birds as they broke out into full song.

_"Hey, are you guys coming back in?"_

It was Cream. The door was opened fully, as she called out to the five mounds sitting at the steps. The sunlight bathed all of them, and for a moment, it was like they were nothing but a still painting… or even a memory.

Sonic heard murmurs, then saw all of them stand up and head back inside.

It was then that Cream peered out into the leafy green forest.

Sonic pulled back as fast as he could. He could've _sworn… _that Cream's brown eyes had stared right into his. He put a hand to his chest as if it would stop his heart from beating so loudly, or that his breathing would grow still. He quietly swore to himself in his mind. What if Cream had saw him?

He heard the _click _of a door closing. He waited for just a moment longer, than dared to peek out.

No one was there.

_'Well, what were you hoping for? That they'd find you and drag you inside with them?'_

He felt his courage falling away, and swore to himself again. What was he doing, sneaking around like a thief in the night?

Before his courage could fail him again, he marched boldly to the door, and knocked.

* * *

_'So it was him that I saw…'_

Cream kept her face calm and gentle as she looked at her older friend up and down. She was at least a head shorter than him, and yet he squirmed as she watched him.

Cream felt a frown working it's way up to her face. No… the Sonic _she _knew was confident. He wouldn't squirm… and he had never been uncomfortable around her before.

She watched him for a little while longer. He was opening and closing his mouth, as if he had words that needed to be said, and yet they had escaped him at the last moment.

Cream decided not to say anything, and simply held open the door.

* * *

They were gone. 

Sonic thought that he had it. He thought that he knew the words that needed to be said, he thought that he knew the words that he had started to engrave into his mind.

But he didn't.

It was like trying to read a foreign language. He knew they were there… he knew what they meant… but he just didn't know what to say, or how to say them.

He didn't know what to think from the searching gaze that Cream was giving him. Was it and invite to let him in? Was it… forgiveness? What was he seeing in that young girl's eyes?

Then, he saw her shift. She opened the door a little wider.

_'No… I'm not supposed to…'_

But his body walked in anyway.

There they were, seated around a small table. You probably wouldn't have noticed that Sonic was missing from the group at all.

_'Vector, Charmey, Espio, Rouge, Knuckles… Tails… and Cream's behind me…'_

He gave a small sigh. _'No Amy…'_

He almost berated himself for it right away.

_'You know that you won't leave if you see Amy…'_

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned around to see Cream. She gently guided him to a chair and sat him down, before sitting down herself.

Nobody was meeting his eye. The Chaotix were apparently busy inspecting the small table. Tails seemed to have found his blanket very interesting. Rouge was idly flipping through the newspaper, while Knuckles wrung his hands slowly.

"So…" Sonic looked up at Cream, a bit glad to be distracted from the hurt he felt as his friends ignored him. "Is there something you need to say?" she asked softly while petting Cheese and Chocola who had landed on her lap. Even they were quiet, as if they knew what was going on.

The atmosphere tensed.

Sonic opened his mouth. It was now or never. "I…" His mouth went dry of words.

"Chao, chao?" Cheese and Chocola look at each other for a moment before flying off of Cream's lap and landing on Sonic's. They gazed at Sonic with inquiring looks. "Chao, chao?" they said again, tugging on his arms.

"… They miss you, you know." Sonic kept his gaze on the little chaos, watching as they tugged on his arms. Cream laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them. "See? Look." Sonic looked down, and saw that the tiniest spikes were growing a bit under their fur.

"But…" Sonic let out a breath that he didn't know that he had been holding. He saw his friends tense up a bit. "I… I can't stay. I just can't."

Nobody spoke for a while.

"Why?" asked Cream, now that she knew that no one else was going to talk.

It was like the words suddenly tumbled into him, and he rushed to bail them out before he could lose them again. "Look, I'm sorry guys. I really am." He gave a quick glance at them all, but they remained unchanged. He had never felt so blocked off from them before. "It's just that… that other me… he, he _was _me. It wasn't just some… something that Robotnik created. I can't stay, I'll endanger you all. And… and…" Sonic gulped. "I can't… I just can't _do _something like that to you guys." He paused for a second. The air between them all just tensed even more, and he wouldn't have been surprised to hear something break.

"I'm really glad that I got to knew you guys…" Sonic bit his lip. The words were slowing now, flowing at a more comfortable pace. "You guys really were there for me… thick and thin… and, well, all that." He dug his fingers into the seat of his chair.

"I want you to know too… that I don't think any of you guys are weak… or that I really meant any of those words that I said. It's just… I don't even know _where _they came from. It's like my mind just made them up by it's own… and I just… couldn't stop them." He shivered.

"You guys don't have to worry about me or anything," he said, hastily. "Just… just…" His voice shrunk to a whisper. "Live on without me, okay? …What…?"

Knuckles had marched up to him without him knowing, and grabbed his shoulder. The chaos flew off in alarm.

And before he knew it, Knuckles had punched him across the face.

Hard.

The chair was in splinters… no, more than that. It had been reduced to a fine dust, and Sonic had flown across the room, hitting the wall, which now had a nice sized crack to it.

Sonic gave a groan before sitting up and rubbing his head. "What the hell, Knuckles?"

Rouge was still flipping through the news. "Wow, Sonic. For a guy like you, I never knew you could spew so many sentimental things out at once. If you did that a bit more, you would've snatched that Amy Rose a long time ago."

Sonic could only gap… which was a rare sight indeed.

"After all I said, that's all you can say?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah," she replied, before carefully folding up her newspaper and setting it back down. You would've thought that this happened everyday from the way she acted. "You struck me as more… of the spontaneous type."

Sonic blinked, still too shocked to register much.

Espio closed his eyes a bit before leaning back. "She's right, you know," he simply said.

Vector put his head phones on, closing his eyes and bobbing his head to the music. "You always said that you would never look back... or to the future for that matter." He opened an eye and peered lazily at him through it. "Always think of the present… after all, that's the only moment that you live in."

Charmey yawned a bit. "You could've at least spiced up your goodbye speech a bit. Now I don't want you to leave at all."

"Wait… what?" Sonic stood up painfully, still rubbing his head.

"Geez, you're so slow," said Knuckles in exasperation. "Do you know how angry you got me? I thought that you'd never shut up…"

"But… but…"

"Sonic," said Knuckles. "Listen to us…"

"Stop!" shouted Sonic, angry. This caught their attention. "Look, if I stay here, it will endanger you all! What part of that don't you understand?"

Knuckles frowned. "Are you saying that I'm too weak to take you on?"

"I'm not kidding!" The house echoed from his voice. It grew very still. "This isn't just… another regular fight. I might actually _kill _you this time, and I can't do anything to stop it! It's not another fight for the Chaos Emerald, or some robot, or whatever! This is a fight for our lives!"

More silence…

"… But Sonic…" said a very quiet voice. "What about you?"

All heads turned to Tails.

"Tails…" Sonic softened his voice. "Look, bro. I'll be fine… I've always been fine out on my own, so why worry about me now?"

"Because…" Tails took a deep breath, than look Sonic straight in the eye. "You're not coming back this time… right?"

Sonic looked down. "… Yeah… that's true…"

"Sonic," started Knuckles. "Who gave you this big idea of getting away from us and staying by yourself? Who told you to do this?"

"…" Sonic didn't say anything for a second. "Myself…"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. I think that it's your other side who told you to stay away from us… wasn't it?"

Sonic looked away.

_"Exactly," _replied Knuckles, staring intently at Sonic. "Since when have you ever listened to threats? Since when have you, of all people, ever thought of anything as _impossible? _What happened to your stupid cocky attitude?"

Sonic looked at his shoes, uncomfortable. "I guess I… changed…" he muttered quietly.

"Besides, isn't it obvious?" Knuckles asked him, ignoring his earlier statement. "If _he _wants you to stay away from us, it's probably for _his _benefit."

"But… he said…" But Sonic's voice didn't seem so sure any more.

Knuckles spoke over him. "Do you seriously think that if he would actually _warn _you to stay away from us? Do you think that he will actually _tell_ you that running away from us will protect us from him? The last time I checked, he _wanted _to kill us, right?"

Sonic felt the corners of his mouth turn down. _'Well…'_

"If I didn't know any better," continued Knuckles. "I'd say that he _wants _you to stay away from us so that he can come back. Being alone… can be…" He cleared his throat. "… It can… well, trap you in your mind a bit." He rubbed the back of his head, clearing his throat again, as if embarrassed that he had somewhat complained about his "job."

_"He's right, you know," _an annoying little voice said, poking at his resolve.

"Wow…" said Rouge, breaking through Sonic's thoughts. "Knuckie, that was the _smartest _thing that I've ever heard you say." She smirked.

"Heh, I know…" said Knuckles, looking very proud for a moment. "Hey… wait…"

"So!" Cream said, very loudly before anything else could happen. "What are you going to do now, Sonic?"

Sonic felt their scrutinizing gazes turn to him again.

He squirmed for a second, than sighed. "I… don't know… what I should do…"

"Well, I sure know," said Knuckles.

Sonic looked at him with an unspoken question in his eyes.

"Stay," he answered, simply, without a trace of his usual arrogance in his voice.

Sonic stared, as if he was shocked.

"Stay." This time, it was Rouge.

Sonic looked down, and despite himself, he felt a smile work it's way to his face.

"Stay," said the Chaotix, blandly.

Sonic fidgeted silently.

"Stay," said Cream with a smile, accompanied by the 'chao, chao!' of Cheese and Chocola.

Sonic drew in a deep breath…

The next answer didn't come.

Sonic looked up at Tails. He just… needed to know…

Tails walked up, his eyes downcast. Slowly he looked up at Sonic, and clasped his hand.

"Stay," he said, his voice low.

But Sonic knew that he meant it.

Sonic let go of Tails's hand, before standing up slowly. Without a word, he walked to the door.

_'What should I do?' _he silently asked himself.

He heard an answer.

_'Stay…' _he heard something inside him whisper.

* * *

**_A/N: _**...What? Romance doesn't have to be _just _about love. Romance also has like... an emotional aspect in it as well (sorry... too much English for my own good...). So, it was... friendship...ish... Don't any of you ever get tired of romance? ACK! Don't hurt me, I was kidding! (runs from scary glares thrown by romance lovers)

_The next chapter will be the last one. _Yes, you read it right folks. All things, good and bad, must come to an end someday. I know that I will miss writing this... it was fun to torture them while it lasted. Shoot, I shouldn't say things like this out loud...

Next chapter will be up ASAP. You see, I kinda... semi-know what I'm going to write this time.

Special thanks to the people who got me to move my lazy bum and update (you know who you are!).

* * *

**Anonymous Reviews:**

**Mei Fire: **Thanks a bunch for reading! I hope that you'll enjoy the upcoming last chapter.

**Jeanette: **I'm glad that you didn't think that the flower thing was corny. I kept on debating with myself whether to put it in or not... I think my computer go too angry with me copy/pasting it over and over again at one point, and I had to re-type the whole scene. Thanks for reading!

**cindamcjinga: **Heh, heh... you hate waiting? Now why would you have to tell me that? (sweatdrops) Thanks for reading!

**Flying Dragons: **LOL, thanks for being honest with me. I wasn't all that happy with the last chapter. I didn't hate it either... but meh. Thanks for reading!

**hamhamhaha: **Hey, it's still nice to hear... err... read things that people type. Thanks for reading! And thanks for the Tails/Cream video... Dang... I gotta put it up someday...

**Sonamyloveis strong**: Don't worry, I've... already kinda started on the next chapter. Somewhat. Thanks for reading!

azngirlchibi


	22. Chapter 22 Not That Bad

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**_Disclaimer:_** 0MG!! T4 P1$(#41M4 1N #33T!!! 1 P0 N0T 0WN $0N1( 0R (R3W!! TH3 B3#0NG T0 $3G4!!

**_

* * *

_**

**_A/N: _**(sniffles) WAH! It's the last chapter!!

Metal Sonic: YAY! It's the last chapter! ... and what's with the leet?

Me: What the... who invited you?

Metal Sonic: I had to come... after all, who misses the last chapter of any fic? Even if the fic is really retarded... and it kills me off...

Me: Why you... (attempts to strangle him)

Metal Sonic: ... Robots don't breathe...

Me: Oh... I forgot...

(sigh) Enjoy the last chapter...

* * *

She wondered if he was looking for her. 

She wondered if she was a fool for waiting.

She wondered… if she was a fool for still hoping.

_'Maybe… that's all I really was,' _thought Amy, putting her head in her arms as she drew her legs up. _'Just… a fool.'_

A soft breath of wind blew up against her form, and she found herself looking up… wondering if that breath of wind was Sonic.

It wasn't.

She closed her eyes, feeling tears slide down her cheek. And yet… a small smile made it's way up to her face. She wondered why.

_'It feels like… someone's coming for me.' _The soft grass underneath her rustled slightly as she shifted a bit. _'Maybe I'm just dreaming again…' _

More tears made it's way down her face. She felt the wind softly blow them away. It was like… Sonic's spirit was still there, and it was telling her not to cry.

But how could she?

She wanted Sonic to _be _here with her, even if it sounded so incredibly selfish. Even if it meant sacrificing herself, and all the pain Sonic went through to save her.

She just wanted to see him…

The pink form huddled against itself again.

"See, Sonic?" she whispered. "In the end… you finally escaped me."

* * *

He wondered why he was there. 

Why had he followed her when no one was looking? Why did he feel so… _compelled…_ to comfort the girl?

He didn't love her… No, he had decided that a long time ago. His mind was cold, calculating, even when it came to feelings.

And there were really only two emotions that he felt – love, and hate.

But what did he feel for the girl? It wasn't… love, to be exact.

No… what he felt was the same way he felt about Rouge... and for Maria, a long, long time ago.

Family love.

It confused his well organized mind that love could be split into compartments too. And it scared him slightly – though he would never admit it – that love wasn't something that he could organize in his mind. That it simply refused to be held down.

Shadow shook his head. He refused to let his emotions control him… for the only being that would ever control him was himself.

No one else.

Not even love.

He stepped out from the darkness that hid him.

* * *

She didn't look up when he sat down beside her. 

If surprise was really ever there, Amy felt her other emotions engulf it hungrily.

Her tears had dried a while ago. She could feel the wind carry them away.

For a while, they didn't say anything.

"Why…?" Her voice was so quiet, that she herself could barely make out the words that formed on her lips.

Shadow stayed quiet, his gaze trained steadily forward.

"Back then… when the Eggman had me trapped by the Emeralds… why did you save me?"

The only show of surprise that Shadow let out was a faint twitch of his ears.

"Something told me to," he answered simply.

Amy was quiet for a second.

"Something told you to?" she repeated, voice faint.

Shadow's face was impassive. "The Faker… he was really desperate when he saw you caught in that trap," he said.

A pause.

"The look in his eyes," he continued. "It was one of pure terror. No uncertainty, no rashness… just pure terror that you were going to die."

Amy stayed silent.

"I think," Shadow went on. "That was the only time that I've ever seen someone so scared. I think… that only you would have the ability to make him feel that way."

Amy stood up slowly, and Shadow stood with her. She looked at him straight in the eye. "So… is he running away from me… because he's afraid of me?"

Shadow nodded. "Probably," he said.

Amy let her forehead rest on Shadow's shoulder.

Shadow just stood there… straight and still, his eyes looking over the top of her head.

Amy gave a sigh, but this time, it just sounded tired. "So he's afraid, huh?" she said, quietly.

Shadow felt his mouth move as the next words escaped him. "Well… everyone has to face their fear someday."

Amy looked up at him. "And why would he face me?"

Shadow shrugged, before walking past her. "Maybe it's because you're the only one that he'd ever shed tears for."

* * *

He knew it. He had known it all along. 

He knew that he just couldn't… stay away from her. Not for long… not knowing that he'd never return.

He knew that he would go looking for her.

He didn't really know where to start. He just knew… that he had to run.

So Sonic ran.

Colours and shapes rushed past him, and there was nothing but the path lain out before him. Dust kicked up, and the wind blew it away.

He felt himself turn left, not really knowing why.

But that didn't really matter… knowing didn't really matter right now. He trusted the guide that had taken him around the world, even before now. And he trusted it still.

But then again… what would he do when he got there?

It was like standing in front of a fork in the road.

Stay… or go?

Sonic shook his head as he ran.

'_Somehow… I think I'll know when I get there.'_

The wind whistled in his ears… and he heard a voice.

"_So… is he running away from me… because he's scared of me?"_

He knew who it was right away. The same voice that had laughed the same, sweet way what felt like so long ago…

He stopped. A gust of wind blew the soft grass around him… and he realized that he was standing in a large, open field of grass, surrounded by a ring of trees.

"_Probably."_

A deep, masculine voice.

It was Shadow.

… and… Amy?

He turned around.

A pair of fiery red eyes gazed right into his.

Sonic felt his heart flutter in panic, and he dived behind the nearest object he saw.

His heart in his mouth, he pressed his back into the hard, rough bark of the tree he was hiding behind, ignoring the way it bit into his back.

"_Well… everyone has to face their fear someday."_

The words danced in his mind. It was as if… Shadow had said them, just for his ears. Not Amy's.

But he couldn't have seen him…

… Could he?

"_And why would he face me?"_

Sonic winced at the way Amy had said those words. It wasn't angry… or even sad. Just… hopeless.

Sonic clenched his fists. _'I'm so sorry… Amy…'_

"_Maybe… because you're the only one he'd ever shed tears for."_

Sonic's eyes opened wide, and he dared a peek from behind the tree.

Shadow was gone… and Amy was left there alone.

Sonic suddenly felt a frown work it's way up to his face. "How could he just leave Amy alone there like that?" he whispered out loud, without knowing he did.

"Hypocrite."

Sonic whipped around, and he was greeted by Shadow's back.

Sonic gave a start of surprise. "How…?"

Shadow turned his head to the side, but instead of looking at him, his eyes scanned the distance. "Are you just going to stand there asking questions?"

The blue hedgehog's face took a look of confusion. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

Shadow turned from him, his black spikes glistening in the sun. "Don't just ask questions, Sonic," he said, before walking away. "Start answering them."

The shade of the surrounding trees welcomed him with open arms.

Sonic turned from where Shadow had disappeared, and then looked at Amy. Her face was downcast, sadness starting to swim through her form. The sunlight glinted behind her, casting long shadows around her. Her short quills brushed her cheeks, but she didn't bother tucking them back. She didn't bother pushing back her bangs either, like she just wanted to hide her face from the world.

She looked like a once blazing fire that had died down, leaving nothing behind but burnt ashes and scorched logs.

And suddenly, Sonic felt his heart lurch forward with yearning, and he walked quietly towards her.

* * *

She knew it was him, as soon as she heard his footfalls. He always had this strange way of walking… the steps were always a bit uneven, like he was too impatient to be traveling at such a slow pace. 

She heard him call out to her. "Amy…"

She couldn't turn around though. She was afraid that it was an illusion… that she was simply going mad. After all… he had left her, without even saying goodbye.

She heard him call out again. "Amy…"

It sounded so real…

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and it gently turned her around.

Two green eyes clashed. Amy could feel herself shaking with unsurpassed emotion.

"S-Sonic…" she whispered, her voice quivering.

The cobalt hedgehog hesitantly put his hand on her head, and rubbed it slowly. She felt more tears fall down her face, even as she tried to hold them back in vain. Sonic frowned, and wiped them gently away. Amy caught his hand, and held it tightly, as if to make sure it was real.

"Hey, Ames. Don't cry." He gave a weak smile.

Suddenly, Amy threw his hand down. "'Don't cry?'" she shouted at him, her voice angry. She swallowed a lump in her throat, her shoulders starting to shake. "You leave…" she said, her voice faint. "… And that's all you have to say?"

Sonic looked down in shame. "I… I had – have to, Amy."

Amy grabbed his hand, suddenly afraid that he would run from her again. She didn't think that she could take another heartbreak. "'Have to?'"

Sonic tried to look away from her, but she forced his face to look at her with her other hand. "Tell me why," she demanded. She softened her tone when Sonic visibly flinched. "Please, Sonic. I want to help." Her voice held a hint of a plea in it.

Sonic shook his head furiously. "No, you can't," he said, his voice sounding very small.

Amy frowned. "Why?" she asked.

Sonic felt his tongue tie itself in his mouth for a moment. "Because…" he sighed. His eyes took on a faraway look. "Remember… when I asked you to promise me something?"

Amy cocked her head. "I promised you a lot of things, Sonic," she replied, a small smile on her face.

Sonic didn't return the smile. His eyes closed, as if watching a movie behind his eyelids. _"Promise me that you'll let me protect you." _

Amy looked down. "Well, I never did give you an answer, did I?"

Sonic opened his eyes. "No, you didn't," he said, his voice quiet.

"… Well, my answer… is no."

Sonic couldn't believe his ears for a moment.

"… No?" he repeated.

Amy gently placed a hand on his face. "Sonic," she said, gently. "How can I let you protect me if you won't let me protect you?"

Sonic's ears drooped. "Amy…" He shook his head again. "How am I supposed to protect you if you endanger yourself to protect me?" He scuffed his shoe against the grass. "Please, Amy…" He let the sentence trail off.

Amy gently grabbed onto his shoulders. "Then don't protect me," she said, her eyes searching his. Seeing how scared the look, how desperately to plead with her to understand… and how frustrated they were that she refused his words. "Just… stay with me… It's all I really want."

Sonic sighed, the pulled her into a tight hug. She felt so safe… and so happy, just to be able to hear his heart beat so steadily.

"The world isn't that simple," he whispered. He hugged her even tighter.

He felt Amy shift in his arms so that her head was looking over his shoulder. "Has if ever been?" she asked.

Sonic felt a smile tug at his lips. "No… I guess not."

Amy looked at him again. "Then stay."

Sonic swallowed as their eyes met again. He put his forehead on hers. "How can you make it sound so simple?" he asked her.

Amy let out a small smile. "You were a good teacher," she replied. She saw a smile wash over his lips. A small one, but it was there. And she was happy, for a moment, just to know that she had put it there.

Sonic suddenly felt a small fear pull at him. "But what if… he… I… hurt you?" he asked, his voiced hushed by fear.

Amy's smile disappeared as she thought about the nightmare that had haunted her, even when she was awake. She shuddered visibly, her heart suddenly racing, her breathing suddenly quick. _'Even the very thought of him makes me feel like this…'_

And then, just as suddenly, she thought of Sonic. How he had saved her… how he had, quite literally, followed her into death… just to bring her back.

Sonic let Amy go. He knew it. He had seen the fear in her eyes. He started to turn, not letting the burning tears in his eyes fall. _'I knew it. I shouldn't have bothered her. I shouldn't have come back. I shouldn't have… I shouldn't have…'_

He felt her grab his wrist. "Wait!" she pleaded. "Don't go!"

Sonic didn't turn to her. He tried to make his voice sound cold… his tone hard. "Why not? I obviously scare you that much."

Instead of letting him go like he had thought she would, her grip on him tightened even more.

"I know…" she said quietly. "It was stupid of me, wasn't it? You're probably more scared of him then any of us ever will be…"

Sonic felt his tense body calm a bit. "So?" he bit back, his voice bitter. "Does it really matter if I'm scared?" He winced quietly when the salty tang of tears reached his nose. "Does it ever matter if I'm scared?" His voice was quieter this time.

Amy shook away the tears. She had to be strong, strong for the two of them. "It matters to me," she said. She quickly let go of his wrist, and hugged him gently from behind, his quills soft as they cushioned her face.

He couldn't help it. He felt a few tears fall, and he felt them sliding down Amy's fingers as she brought them up to his neck. "I'm sorry, Amy." His voice held a small tremor. "I'm such a coward…"

He felt her shake his head, shifting his quills. "It's okay," she whispered. "Everyone's afraid of something."

"But…" Sonic felt the lump return to his throat. "I can't… _be _like everyone else. They _depend _on me. I can't be scared… of anything."

Amy's answer came quickly. "Isn't there someone that _you _can depend on?" she asked.

Sonic turned around in her arms, and their noses touched. Amy saw that his eyes were red from the tears. "Yeah," he said, nodding. "I can depend on you."

Amy nodded, a smile creeping up her face. "Who else?"

"Well…" His face went a little closer to Amy's. "There's Tails… and Cream… and Knuckles, Rouge… The Chaotix… Shadow…" His lips touched hers, for just a second, before he pulled away. "And did I say you already?"

The smile bloomed on her lips. "So… I guess that none of us can be scared of anything, hmm?"

Sonic was stunned for a second by how beautiful a single smile could be… and how _he, _of all beings, could cause it to happen. "Well… I…" he was at a loss of words.

Amy hugged him, saving him from having to say anything as he returned the embrace. "Please stay," she whispered.

Sonic took in the smell of her small form. "You're… not scared?"

Amy shook her head. "No… I'm scared. Terrified, in fact." She could feel his mouth turning down. "But…" She smiled even wider. "If you're here… then it's not so bad."

Sonic looked down at her, a genuine smile overcoming his features as well. How could a single girl's smile be so addicting? "Well…" He pulled her back to look at her. "I guess since you're here… it's not so bad for me either."

He lowered his head towards hers, and kissed her gently on the lips, before pulling away. Amy could feel her lips tingling from it, and she leaned in for another…

"Eww! They kissed!"

The pair was torn apart as something whizzed by them.

"Ewwy! My eyes! Oh Lord almighty, save my eyes!"

"Charmey, stop being such a drama queen…"

A chameleon emerged from the forest that surrounded them.

"Espio!" Sonic stared at him.

"You… were watching?" Amy asked, a blush starting to grace her cheeks.

"We all were!" said Charmey, suddenly quite cheerful.

"All?" The pair's smile suddenly froze on their faces.

"Aw man… Charmey, you blew our cover!"

One… two… six shapes followed Espio out of the forest.

"That was so cute!" squealed Cream, quite unlike her earlier, calmer self.

"C-Cream!" stuttered Amy. "Wh – What are you…?"

"It was revenge for catching Cream and I earlier… remember?" answered Tails, a smirk on his face.

Sonic looked confused, while Amy just turned even redder.

"Stop kidding around, Tails," said Rouge, her fur stark white against the dark shadows. It was rather surprising they didn't see her earlier. "We just needed to make sure that Mr. Coward over there didn't take off on us." She winked at them.

Knuckles rolled his shoulder. "Man… you guys can sure drag out a conversation. I'm so sore from sitting still for so long…"

"Yes, yes," said Rouge, rolling her eyes. "You're a man of little words, we all know that."

"What are you implying?" shouted Knuckles, his fists raised.

"Hmph," said Shadow, eyes closed.

Sonic turned to him. "Hey, Shadow!" he greeted, his old smirk starting to work it's way to his face. "Thanks a lot for the help!"

Many pairs of eyes were curiously turned to said hedgehog, but they were more or less ignored.

Shadow finally opened his eyes, before staring fully at Sonic. "Just take care of her, Faker." Then, with a small nod to them all, he ran off.

"Hey!" shouted Rouge. "Wait up!" She opened her wings, ready to take off. Then, she looked over her shoulder. "Take care!" she shouted to them. "Knowing you guys, I'll see you all soon!" She flew off. "You too, Knuckie!" She smiled at him and blew a kiss, before doing a small double take. Had he just smiled back…? _'Nah,' _she thought, shaking her head.

The remaining people watched them take off. "Well, guys," said Vector, turning to the rest of them. "Me and my crew gotta go now. The paperwork would've piled by now."

"Not that you do any of them!" piped Charmey cheerfully, before flying away to avoid Vector's jaws. "Can't catch me!" he shouted, before whizzing away, the crocodile hot on his heels.

Espio sighed at their childishness, before giving Sonic, Amy, Tails, Cream, and Knuckles a small salute. "Just call if you ever need any help," he said, before running at a fast pace to keep up with the rest of the detectives.

Knuckles stretched his arms. "I guess I'm going too," he said, yawning.

"Leaving already?" asked Cream.

"Yeah… I left the Master Emerald for too long anyways," he replied.

"Hey… what did happen to the Emeralds after we left?" asked Sonic. He had completely forgotten about them in the light of these events.

"Ah, you know. The Chaos Emeralds scattered again, naturally. I brought the Master Emerald back to Angel Island a while ago. Tikal and Chaos are recovering there right now." As he said this, he had scampered up a tree, letting the wind catch his dreadlocks. "See ya!" he shouted, as the wind caught his dreads and whisked him off.

Sonic turned to Tails and Cream. "And you guys…?"

Tails shrugged. "I'm going back the workshop, I guess," he said. He gave Cream an inquiring look.

"I'll go with Tails!" she said cheerfully. "You two coming with us?"

Amy smiled at her, before looking at the horizon. "Nah… I want to stay out here for a moment," she replied.

"Okay!" the two said in unison. Before they left, Tails said over his shoulder, "You guys come whenever you feel like it, alright?"

Sonic nodded at them, before flashing a smile.

"Oh, and _knock _this time," Tails added, before spinning his twin tails and flying with Cream in tow.

Complete silence fell over the forest again.

"It's nice to have people you can call friends, isn't it?"

Sonic turned to Amy, before smiling at her. "Yeah, it is," he said with a wink. He pulled her into his arms before settling them both down under the shade of a tree, the bark suddenly much softer under his quills.

Amy snuggled into his chest. "You know… I'm glad I didn't give up on you," she said.

Sonic laughed playfully, poking the back of her head. "_You _were going to give up on me?" he asked, mock hurt laced in his voice.

Amy looked up with a fake pout. "Hey, you're really stubborn, you know that?"

Sonic looked down at her, a smile dancing on his lips. "Well then, I'm glad that you're stubborn enough to not give up on me, then." He was rewarded with a light slap on his arm.

Amy gave a happy sigh, before giving him a small peck on the lips and snuggling deeper into his arms. Her breathing was slowing, becoming more even as her chest rose and fell to the beating of his heart. "I love you… you know that?"

Sonic smiled, peaceful. "I know… I love you too."

Soon, she had fallen asleep in his arms, leaving him to study to peaceful greenery around him.

_'It really isn't that bad…' _he thought to himself, a yawn escaping him. _'I guess… I'm still scared. But…' _he looked down at the sleeping figure in his arms. _'It really isn't quite as bad with Amy in my arms.'_

He shifted slightly, making Amy wriggle uncomfortably as his warm arms escaped from her.

He wrapped them around her form again. _'It really isn't that bad…' _he repeated to himself. _'I'm at peace, and I'm happy.' _He felt his eyelids droop a bit.

_'But what about… him?' _He felt his conscious ask himself.

Sonic felt his half clouded mind suddenly clear as this thought entered his head.

_'No…' _He settled down again. _'I don't need to think about him. After all… when my friends are around… when Amy's around… he never entered my thoughts once.'_

His eyelids started to close again.

_'Are you… sure?'_

Sonic felt himself frown. _'Of course I'm not sure… but I don't need to think about that now. If Amy's happy… then I'm happy.'_

_'What if he… you know… hurts her?'_

Sonic tightened his arms around Amy unconsciously as his mind was slowly engulfed by darkness. _'Then I won't let him.'_

He felt the voice in his mind laugh slightly. _'Always the simple one…'_

A smile appeared on Sonic's face as he breathed in deeply, letting his anxieties and worries lose themselves to sleep.

_'It's really not that bad… not with Amy by my side…'_

And, as if she could hear his thoughts, Amy smiled in her sleep as well.

* * *

**_A/N: _**(sigh) It's finally done... It was nearly a year ago that I started this. It's funny to look back at my older chapters and laugh at the way my writing matured...

Metal Sonic: Can't say much about your personality, though...

Me: ... Well, ignoring him... I also know that there's a dozen ways that I can fix this fic up, so I might pull this down some day to fix it up...

Metal Sonic: Yeah, like how you accidently wrote "he" instead of "she" in some parts...

Me: Yeah... there's... Hey!

Metal Sonic: And you really gotta fix your earlier chapters. They're like... crap...

Me: ...

Metal Sonic: Oh, and there's some really, really, cheesy/corny parts you can fix too...

Me:...

Metal Sonic: Oh, and did I mention the...

Me: Don't make me kill you twice.

Metal Sonic: Yes, azngirlchibi-sama...

Me: That's what I thought! Well, to everyone else, I'll be hanging around. You know... reading fics, helping people, whatever. Just call if you need help... Just, not during exam times, okay? Or I'll probably scream from all the pressure. Or blow up. My mom's gonna have a fit if I blow up during exam times... which is around January, btw. Keep an eye out for any of my future fics (which either be up after the exam madness, or during holidays), and PM me if any awesome fics turn up!

* * *

**Thank You's, Thank You's, Thank You's!:**

(ahem) I want to thank all the people who stuck with me right from the beginning, or close enough to it. Thanks to the ones who reviewed (of course, heh heh...), and... I guess the ones who just read without ever saying anything gets a few thank you's as well (hmph. Nah, just kidding. You guys are great too). Thanks to the ones who kicked my lazy butt into shape, and thanks to the people who wrote their own fics that inspired me to keep writing! THANK YOU ALL!!!

See you guys around, k?

* * *

**Anonymous Reviewers:**

**Samantha27: **One SonAmy, coming up soon to a fanfiction site near you. Don't worry, I'll probably center most of my fics around SonAmy. See ya!

**hamhamhaha: **Oh? You should make an account... it's so much easier for me to answer people that way. But meh, I was too lazy at first too, so I really can't say anything LOL. Thanks for reading!

**Mei Fire: **Noo! Don't die on me! OMGOMGOMG!! (panics and faints along Mei Fire). Heh heh... thanks for reading!

ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL

azngirlchibi


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